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GI Bill Information: Ask the Expert Blog
May 4th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I picked up some more information this morning on VRAP, the new job training program for eligible, unemployed veterans created by the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. Here it is: “To apply or learn more information about VRAP or Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment benefits, including on how to apply please call 1-800-827-1000 or visit www.benefits.va.gov/VOW and fill out an online application (VONAPP), or Complete VA Form 28-1900, Disabled Veterans Application for Vocational Rehabilitation, and submit it to the nearest VA Regional Office.”
They will start accepting applications starting around May 15th.To apply, first create a VONAPP account. Creating an account is simple and fast. Your account request is approved in seconds and you are automatically logged-in.
If you already have an existing VONAPP account, then log-in. Once in VONAPP, fill out and submit VA Form 22-1990 – the same form used to apply for GI Bill benefits.
To keep up to date on the VRAP program, sign up for their personalized email service. You should start seeing emails around May 15th.
May 3rd, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hello sir. I just had a question as far as transferring benefits to a spouse. I am currently in the Air Force and plan on getting married this coming summer. July 27, 2012 will mark two years of service. Can I transfer all my benefits to my spouse? I am currently under the MGIB. – Eric
No you can’t, Eric – at least not yet. If you stick with the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB), you would never reach a point where you could transfer benefits to her because the old GI Bill does not have a transfer option to it.
However, under the new Post 9/11 GI Bill, which you already have some eligibility toward, you can make a transfer request to her once you have served for at least six years and extend for an additional four years. So, as you can see, you have to wait for at least another four years before your transfer “window” opens up.
Once it does open, and you have your four-year enlistment extension in place, then go to the milConnect website and enter into her account the number of months you wish to transfer. At that point you should have 36 months of education benefits available to you. You can transfer as little or as much of it as you want.
Once your transfer request is approved, she can go to the eBenefits website and submit VA Form 22-1990e to get her Certificate of Eligibility that she will need when enrolling in school as a GI Bill student using transferred benefits.
While you will have 100% Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility for yourself after three years of service, it takes double that amount of time before you can transfer benefits.
May 2nd, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I am currently enrolled at American Military University majoring in Criminal Justice. What is the big difference between MGIB and Post 9/11? Which do you think should I use when my enlistment is up? Thank you, but confused! – Tiffany
Don’t worry Tiffany, I’m confused too most of the time, but I can tell you the biggest difference between the two GI Bills in one word – pay.
If you use the older Montgomery GI Bill, the VA would pay you $1,473 per month to go to school. Out of that money, you have to pay all your own tuition, fees, books and any other education-related expenses.
If you use the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA pays your school directly for your tuition and fees, up to $17,500 for a private school or full tuition and fees at the in-state student rate for public schools. Each month you get a housing allowance that averages $1,200 across the United States.
Because the amount you get depends on the zip code of your school and the number of credits you take, the amount you actually would receive can vary greatly. If you go to a school in the Midwest, you would get less. If you go to school on either the East or West Coast, it is typically over double the average amount.
Plus at the beginning of each semester, you get a book stipend calculated at $41.67 per credit (up to the $1,000 yearly maximum, which is enough for two semesters per year if you take 12 credits each term.)
Also you should know that if you switch to the Post 9/11 GI Bill with all 36 months of benefits left under your MGIB, you get your MGIB $1,200 contribution back when you use up the last month of benefit. It comes as part of your last housing allowance check or deposit. Pretty cool!
Before GI Bill 2.0 there were several differences between the two bills, but now not so much. If you are at 60% tier, then the MGIB would most likely be better for you. If you are at the 80% tier or higher, then use Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you are at the 70% tier, it is almost a wash between the two GI Bills.
May 1st, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
With the GI Bill, if you want to go to school online, what is the minimum amount of time you can go to a campus and still receive the full BAH instead of just the 50%. — Illisia
Hi Illisia. It really isn’t about how much time you have to spend on campus as it is taking at least one class each semester in a traditional classroom setting that pertains to your degree plan. The rest of your classes can be online. And your on-campus classes can be at a local school close to you and different from your online school.
The key to making this work is to ensure the class you take each semester applies to your degree plan and gets you one class closer to graduation. If it doesn’t, then the VA will not pay for the class, nor will the credits for that class count toward the number of credits that determine your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance.
To get the full monthly housing allowance (and it is different from the BAH you received in the military), you have to take at least the minimum number of credits your school considers to be full-time. The amount you get in housing allowance money each month depends on the zip code of your school and the number of credits you take.
Even if you take just a one-credit class on campus each semester, it will mean the difference of several hundred dollars per month in housing allowance money. Crazy huh!
April 30th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
After this semester, I will have two months left. There are three classes that I can take in the fall to complete my degree plan. Will the VA pay for the entire semester with the BAH? Is it possible to switch back to the old GI Bill to complete my school or perhaps continuing my education further? What are my options? Can I qualify for any extensions? — Sam
You have few options Sam. Number one, you can’t go back to the old Montgomery GI Bill. When you made the decision to switch from the old to the New GI Bill, you gave up your old GI Bill. If you converted with months of benefits left, you received that same number of months under the Post 9/11 GI Bill. If you are using the additional 12 months you received under the New GI Bill, then you had already exhausted all the benefits under the old GI Bill before you switched.
As far as the next semester, because you are using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA would most likely only pay for the two months you have left. If you were using the Montgomery GI Bill, they would pay you to the end of the semester or for 12 weeks, whichever is less. Different GI Bill, different rules.
Requesting an extension won’t work either as they are used if you are going to lose benefits due to reaching your delimitation date of 10 years for the MGIB or 15 years for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.
Under the Rule of 48, if you are eligible for two or more GI Bills, the maximum number of months of benefits you can get is 48. The issue is you are reaching your 48 months and running out of benefits. I’m afraid you are at the end of the line and you should consider paying for your three remaining classes after your last two months of GI Bill benefits are used up.
April 27th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I am finishing my bachelor’s degree right now using student loans. My husband enlisted in 1996. He is still serving active duty and will retire in 2016. Would I be able to use his GI Bill for a vocational degree or a master’s degree now or even after he retires? Also, would he be able to transfer his GI Bill to our 3 children? If so, how does that work, how much would each child get? Would they each get a stipend and housing allowance? I appreciate any light you can shed. – Mandy
Let’s take your questions one at a time Mandy. First, yes, you could get a vocational or master’s degree now or after he retires, provided he makes a transfer of his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to you now while he is still serving. He has enough years in already — just make sure he has at least four years left on his current enlistment at the time he makes a transfer request.
Second question – yes, he can transfer his unused benefits to his three children. Keep in mind he only has 36 months total that he can divide up, so each person will not get much if he divides it up evenly. However, he could give you 18 months to finish your master’s degree and each child 6 months for a total of 36 months.
Third question – once each child and you have your transfer requests approved, then each of you have to go to the eBenefits website and request your Certificate of Eligibility by submitting VA Form 22-1990e. Once each of you get your certificate, you will need to hand in a copy to your school when you enroll.
If your husband is still serving at the time you use your Post 9/11 GI Bill transferred benefit, you would not get the housing allowance but you would get the book stipend and your tuition/fees would be paid directly to your school. However, you would get the housing allowance if you used your benefit once he has retired.
As far as your children, they will get their tuition/fees paid directly to each of their schools, each will get a housing allowance and book stipend regardless of whether your husband is still serving or not. As a matte of fact, they can still live at home (and not have to pay rent or room and board) and still get everything. Just make sure each of them use their transferred benefits by age 26. I think that should have answered all your questions.
April 26th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I just sent in my application for my Reserve GI Bill 2 weeks ago and I was wondering if I will just be receiving $345.00 a month or will I receive $345.00 a month plus a housing allowance and a book stipend. – Michael
Hi Michael. You are mixing information from two different GI Bills. The Reserve GI Bill – the Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) pays you a fixed amount ($345) once each month while you are going to school. Out of that amount you have to pay all your own tuition, fees, books and other education-related expenses.
Under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA pays your tuition and eligible fees directly to your school. Monthly, you get a housing allowance based on the zip code of your school and the number of credits you are taking. At the beginning of each semester, you get a book stipend paying $41.67 per credit (up to the $1,000 yearly maximum).
So, the Post 9/11 GI Bill is much more lucrative than the MGIB-SR, provided you are eligible for it. To qualify for the minimum Post 9/11 GI Bill tier of 40%, you would have to serve for at least 91 days on a Title 10 order in support of a contingency operation. A typical one-year deployment would get you to the 60% tier with three years getting you to 100%.
April 25th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
My husband is transferring all of his GI Bill to me so I can pay for my school. My question is…can I transfer my GI Bill to my daughter later if I do not use it all? – Tannia
No, you can’t transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits that were transferred to you Tannia, but your husband can, if your daughter is one of his dependents. Even after your husband transfers his Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to you, he still has the ultimate control over them, including being able to revoke and reallocate unused benefits as he sees fit or to use them himself.
And that brings me to my next point -– your husband should transfer at least one month of benefits to your daughter now while he is still serving, if she is his biological child or if he has legally adopted her. Under the rules of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, after he retires he can’t transfer benefits to a dependent not having already received benefits while he was active. So by giving her at least one month now, he is giving himself more flexibility as far as how he can manage those transferred benefits in the future — even after he has retired.
By doing it this way, if you do not use all of your benefits, he could take the unused ones from you and give them to her. However, if she never had received any benefits, then he can’t give her any after retiring.
This is an important point that many servicemembers and families do not know about until it is too late, plus it is a good way to maximize the use of GI Bill benefits.
April 24th, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
I would like to transfer my GI Bill to my son. Who must I speak to regarding this situation and which forms must I fill out? Please let me know. Thank you. – Gilbert
Gilbert, you don’t have to speak to anyone as it is all done through the Internet, if you qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill transfer option.
But to qualify for the transfer option, you first must still be serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, which includes active duty and the Selected Reserves (National Guard and the Reserves from the various military branches).
Next, you must have already served for at least six years and lastly, you have to have at least four years left on your enlistment at the time you make a transfer request to get your request approved. If you are within four years of retiring, then the four years is reduced to less amount of time.
Providing you meet these three service obligations, then you can go to the milConnect website and enter into your son’s account how many months of benefits you would like to give him. Once you click on the Submit button, you will see the Status Block change to “Submitted”.
Come back to this website in 8 to 10 weeks and see if the status has changed to “Request Approved”. When the status changes, then your son will have to submit VA Form 22-1990e from the eBenefits website to get his Certificate of Eligibility. He will need to hand in a copy of that certificate when he enrolls in school.
April 23rd, 2012
by Ron Kness
by Ron Kness
Hi, I am wondering what benefits I am entitled to as a National Guardsman being deployed overseas? My total time overseas is approximately 179 days, but with pre-deployment training it is approximately 221 days. This does not include my technical training, additional schooling and basic training. I am planning on attending a military friendly college when I return to the states. Thank you. — Ed
As you most likely know already Ed, the only way National Guardsmen get the Post 9/11 GI Bill is by deploying on a Title 10 order in support of a contingency operation for at least 91 days after September 10, 2001. So with that said, your 179 days would put you at the minimum benefit of 40%. That tier covers eligible time from 90 days out to six months.
However, if some of your additional training time is eligible time, or you could extend your orders by one day (180 days), then you would move into the next category (6 months to 1 year) and gain an additional 10% moving up to the 50% tier. But to tell if your additional time is eligible or not, you have to look at the title code of the order.
The only ones that qualify right now as eligible Post 9/11 GI Bill time are Title 10 and Section 502(f) of Title 32 for the purpose of responding to a national emergency.
So Ed, you will have to dig out copies of your additional training orders and look to see what USC code they fall under to see if they qualify as eligible time for Post 9/11 GI Bill.
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