GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert BlogIs there a Time Limit to Use the GI Bill?
by GIBillExpert
This is one of the many situation in which it pays to read the fine print.
Written into the Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30 of Title 38 of the US Code) is a time limit, which stipulates that a veteran must use the benefits from the bill within 10 years from his or her last separation from the military. If you wait too long, you can’t start using the benefits, and if the time limit expires while you are in the program, you lose remaining benefits.
This can be extended for a few reasons. For example, if you serve another period of at least 90 days on active duty, then the time limit is re-set based on the new separation date. If you are prevented from going to school due to medical problems (verified by a doctor) or by being detained by a foreign power, then the VA can grant an extension equal to the time that you were prevented from going to school.
This particular limit catches a lot of people, which is why the Veterans Affairs department tries to get the word out as well as possible about it. The time limit is part of the contract that recruits sign when opting to participate in the GI Bill program, and is also covered by the VA briefing that is part of the classes given before separating from the military. Nevertheless, a lot of people end up in your situation.
This is one reason that the time limit for the new Post 9/11 GI Bill is longer than that of the old GI Bill, at 15 years instead of 10.
2 Responses to “Is there a Time Limit to Use the GI Bill?”
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About The Authors
Get answers to questions about the old & new GI Bills
- Former Supervisor of Military Personnel Services, including Education Benefits
- Last assignment: Division Command Sergeant Major/E-9
- 36 years of military service
- Served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps
- His father, grandfather, and two uncles served in the U.S. Army, and his son served in the U.S. Navy
- Graduate of Virginia Military Institute
Why the limit of time, I’m still a veteran and feel that just because it’s more than 10 years I still should have the right to use my benefits for education. It’s like after 10 years I’m no longer considered a veteran. Perhaps I should mail my medals back in too.
Why the 10-year limit? It is the way Congress wrote the Montgomery GI Bill. I don’t imagine there was any real logic in the determination, except they probably felt that giving veterans 10-years after discharge was enough time to use the benefits.
Unfortunately for many veterans, the time has slipped away and they have lost their education benefits. For others, it is a lack of knowledge. Some veterans think they have 10 years to use their benefits once they start using them.
The delimiting time for the new Post 9/11 GI Bill is 15 years, so they evidently learned something when they drafted the new bill.
Ron