The GI Bill was passed by Congress in 1944 to help World War 2 veterans gain training or continued education upon their return home. Since then it has helped millions of servicemembers earn a higher education during and after their time in service and has even trickled down to benefit spouses and dependents.
The three types of the GI Bill that can be earned today by servicemembers include the:
- Montgomery Active Duty GI Bill (Chapter 30)
- Montgomery Selected Reserve GI Bill (Chapter 1606)
- Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)
The Montgomery GI Bills
The Montgomery GI Bill for Active Duty (Chapter 30) requires a 2-year minimum service commitment and the benefits last 10 years past the date of separation from active duty offering 36 months of benefits. These benefits are not transferable and are solely intended for the servicemember. The same holds for the Montgomery GI Bill for Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606) but instead requires a 6-year commitment after June 30, 1985 and this servicemember benefit expires the day they retire.
The Post- 9/11 GI Bill
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is the most comprehensive educational benefit passed by Congress permitting veterans up to 100% tuition and fee coverage, a monthly housing allowance, an annual book stipend, the ability to transfer to a spouse and/or dependents, and eligibility for the Yellow Ribbon program (waives a large part of tuition if considered an out of state student or attending a private university) for up to 36 months of coverage.. However, to earn the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the service member must have had a minimum of 90 aggregate days of active duty service after 9/10/01 or 30 continuous days of service if the servicemember was discharged for disability to receive some, not the maximum benefit. The amount of benefits they earned is tiered based on the servicemember’s time in service. Additionally, if your servicemember separated from service after January 1, 2013, the servicemember has 15 years from their separation date to utilize or transfer and further utilize these benefits.
What does it cover?
Tuition and fees (likely instate tuition), a book stipend, and a monthly housing allowance are covered by the GI Bill for up to 36 months of eligibility. These benefits can be used the for the following types of training: secondary education (associate, bachelor, or graduate education), vocational training, apprenticeships, licensing and certification reimbursements, flight training, tutoring assistance, and standardized tests such as the LSAT, GRE, MCAT, PCAT, TOEFL.
How do I start this process? We are probably going to move anyway.
Discuss your goals and reverse engineer your goal with your service member. What is your intended career field? What kind of education or internships does that require? Are you slated to move in the next 6-36 months? What will childcare look like with school and likely a deployment? Why do you want to continue your education? What kind of institutions can we consider? (I always recommend public, not-for-profit institutions) Should I go to school in person or online? Should I start at a local community college or state college and then transfer to a university? Does my local state or community college offer online associate or bachelor’s degrees? Will this graduate school let me finish the program remotely? Can I write and defend my dissertation from a foreign country? (Yes it can be done!) Have I expended all other sources of funding? Do I qualify for the MYCAA grant? Do I qualify for federal grants or scholarships by completing the Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA)? When are the application deadlines for my school? Which school is the best value to me? These are the kinds of real questions we can use to start piecing together the puzzle of how continued education will fit into our lives within this military lifestyle and how you will fund it.
Side note: If you have some college credits or if you have had to move around before earning your associate degree, I highly recommend taking a course through ModernStates.org, where you can prepare for a CLEP exam, and then earn credit for many (if not all) general education requirements that are very universal–think English 101, College Algebra, Biology, US History, that most associate degrees require. The courses are free, self-paced, and are taught by excellent professors. Upon completing the course, you can earn a voucher for the CLEP exam, saving you $90. Register and take the CLEP exam and then transfer that CLEP credit into a local state or community college, and you’re now one class closer to graduating!
If your servicemember has accrued the Post-9/11 GI Bill from their time in service and opted to transfer 1-100% of their eligibility to a spouse or dependent during their active time in service, then you are eligible. Transferring benefits cannot be done once the servicemember has separated from the military.
Who can servicemembers transfer their GI Bill eligibility to?
To transfer eligibility, the servicemember must be on active duty or in the selected reserves. If you are a veteran who did not initiate the transfer process, unfortunately, this benefit is no longer transferable. While on active duty, your servicemember must apply for the transfer of benefits after they have served 6 years (AD, National Guard, or Reserves). Notice how GI Bill minimum eligibility and GI Bill transferability eligibility requirements are very different durations. This will incur a 4-year additional education service commitment. This is not connected to one’s separation date (EAS) from the military.
If the service member is on AD, and you transfer eligibility to your spouse, your spouse will not receive the BAH. However, if the benefits are transferred to a child, they will receive the BAH. This is because they (DoD) assume you and your spouse reside together. Spouses must utilize the benefit within 15 years of the servicemember’s separation from the military.
Your children can only use the benefit after the servicemember has completed 10 years of service. The benefit can be used while the servicemember is AD or retired. The child must provide proof of high school graduation or have reached age 18. Children who are recipients of the transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill do not have to utilize these benefits within the 15-year timeframe and children utilizing these benefits will receive BAH according to the college or university’s zip code. However, children must utilize this benefit before turning 26. (If your child will not be utilizing these benefits before age 26, please ensure you transfer these back to yourself under the Forever GI Bill, otherwise, they will expire.)
How can my servicemember transfer the Post-9/11 GI Bill to a family member?
- Go to milconnect.
- Click on Transfer Benefits. Login with your CAC or your DS login.
- Your DEERs-reported dependents will populate on the screen.
- From there, you can increase or decrease the remaining months of eligibility that you want each dependent to receive.
- Confirm with your education office on base that this has gone through. Your 4-year additional commitment starts today (this is NOT the servicemember’s EAS date).
- We recommend that you transfer at least 1% of your eligibility to each dependent is completed at the 6-year mark of service. You can adjust the amounts after retirement, but you cannot add new dependents to your GI BIll transfer eligibility after retirement (because the dependent would not be in DEERS).
- You will be billed in arrears if you transfer your benefits and do not complete the additional education commitment years.
- If no dependents use the benefits during those 4 ears of the education commitment, transfer the benefits back solely to the servicemember so that they do not expire.
What about the Forever GI Bill?
For veterans who left AD after January 1, 2013, service members and dependents who are recipients of a GI Bill transfer no longer have to comply with the 15-year rule. The Forever GI Bill also expanded the benefits for servicemembers so please look into that as your surviving member may qualify for more months of eligibility.
How do I tell my university I am using VA-benefits?
First, obtain the servicemember’s statement of eligibility by contacting the VA. Have the servicemember call 888-GIBILL-1 Monday-Friday 7am-6pm Central Standard Time and request their education benefits letter and statement of eligibility. It will be sent to the address on file.
Then, bring that letter in or submit the letter electronically to your university or college’s veterans benefit office.
From there, you will be informed on how to register for classes, how to ensure your classes are in your program of study, and how to certify each month (proof that you are continuing to take classes) to ensure your BAH is not disrupted.
Once you are registered for classes, your college or university’s veterans benefit office will place a hold that will defer your tuition payment so you aren’t dropped from your classes. The federal VA funds will pay your tuition past everyone else’s tuition date, and then you will receive monthly BAH payments in arrears (in the month following the one just completed). Be mindful that BAH is prorated. You will probably start school in the middle to end of a month so the first BAH amount will be less than the typical monthly payment. Additionally, you will receive an annual book stipend for textbooks.
Lastly, for the super GI Bill wizzes out there, the months of eligibility usage can be paused and unpaused. Further, you can use the GI Bill for one semester, use your funds for another semester, then, use the GI Bill for the next semester and so on to “stretch” the GI Bill. This is especially useful for a student who knows they will be pursuing a graduate degree and are trying to minimize the overall costs of higher education. My last two cents: attend an in-state public institution (community college, state college, or university) to minimize costs, read up about the GI Bill, network for internships and entry-level jobs–whether it is in person or on LinkedIn, and choose the program that works for you.
Meet Katie
Katie is a former Air Force brat turned Navy spouse living in Jacksonville, FL. Having met her husband on a dating app (Hinge is great!) while he was in Naval Pilot Training in Pensacola, they have moved around Florida and made Navy life their own. Between workups, underways, and deployments, they have had quite the Navy ride in their first couple years of marriage, but still choose to see the good and growth from it all. From rich friendship forged by months apart, Katie has seen the beauty of community and is reminded of one’s inner strength. In the daytime (and evenings), Katie works as a Realtor, assisting military families navigating PCS season to find affordable and safe housing, both to and from NAS Jacksonville and NS Mayport. In her spare time, she enjoys working out, hot yoga, and traveling.
