Support your family

The Royal Naval Service’s varied work is a truly global effort, with around 35,000 men and women taking operational demands in their stride, all over the world, 365 days a year. Life in the Royal Naval Service can be pressured, demanding – and sometimes dangerous. It’s why we put so much effort into making sure the families of our servicemen and women are properly looked after, with the help, guidance and support they need.

Support, when and where it’s needed

Royal Navy Royal Marines Welfare (RNRMW) is available to the families of everyone in the Naval Service, offering the emotional and practical support they need when their loved ones are deployed. RNRMW’s role is all-encompassing, from organising community events and offering specialist support, to round-the-clock moderation of the Royal Navy online forums.

The Naval Service is buoyant on social media channels, with official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Individual units tend to have closed groups for families to keep in touch when their loved ones are on deployment. You can find out all you need to know in our Welfare Section.

Charities

The Naval Service benefits from a number of charities to support families when they need it, principally the Royal Navy Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC), which works closely with all the Naval and service-related charities you can find here.

Other benefits

Some examples:

Armed Forces Childcare Voucher Scheme - Childcare vouchers are a government initiative designed to help working parents pay for childcare. It enables serving parents to convert part of their salary into vouchers before tax and NI contributions are taken.
Defence Discount Service – Fully approved discounts are available to service personnel and their partners, who can join as members for free and take advantage of a discount card, at a minimal charge.
Tickets for Troops – This service also provides discounts and, occasionally, free tickets to service personnel for a selection of events across the UK.
Railcards – These are offered as an allowance to service personnel and are available from Unit Administration Offices for servicemen and women’s partners and children.
Sports and Education – If they’re living close to a Unit, partners of service personnel can take advantage of its facilities.
Service Families Accommodation (SFA) – Service personnel who are married, in a civil partnership or are a single parent can benefit from SFA. Located close to the workplace, it’s allocated based on family size for ratings and rank for officers.
Contact Housing – A particular type of SFA, offered as affordable accommodation for visiting family members and prioritised for people needing welfare support.