Posts Tagged ‘Montgomery GI Bill’

No Terry, you can convert anytime. However, there are two ways to convert. If you still have Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) entitlement left and convert, you will get that same number of months of Post 9/11 GI Bill entitlement that you had left under the MGIB. But, if you first exhaust all your MGIB entitlement, and then convert, you will get the additional 12 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill entitlement. I know – it makes no sense.

The advantage of converting to the Post 9/11 Bill with MGIB entitlement left would be to get the higher pay structure and once you use up your converted entitlement, you would get some of your MGIB contribution back, prorated based on the number of months you converted. The advantage to exhausting your MGIB first and then converting would be the additional months of education at the higher pay rate.

To convert, all you have to do is fill out VA Form 22-1990 from the eBenefits website. The part you had to do prior to retirement was make a transfer of benefits request. After retirement, that is no longer an option.

Anthony, you won’t lose your remaining GI Bill benefit – but that is all you will get under the Post 9/11 GI Bill – what you had left under your old GI Bill. However, if you first use up your remaining 6 months and 10 days, and then switch, you would get an additional 12 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill. As you know from using your MGIB, you get paid a monthly amount and you have to pay all your own education expenses.

Once you switch to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA pays your tuition and fees at a public school up to your eligible percentage, which with 26 months of service after September 10, 2001 would be 80%. If you attend a private school, then they would pay up to 80% of the maximum of $17,500 per year.

You get a monthly housing allowance, which, depending on the zip code of your school, can be 3/4^th of your monthly MGIB amount. Plus, it gets better yet. You also get your Post 9/11 GI Bill percentage of the book stipend each semester up to the capped amount of $800 per year.

So there is no question in my mind what I would do – use up your current MGIB and switch.

M, you could be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill if you had served after September 10, 2001, but there is a trick to using it. If you switch to the New GI Bill now, with 2 months of Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) left, then that is all you will get under the Post 9/11 GI Bill – 2 months of benefits. However, if you exhaust your 2 MGIB months first and then switch, you would get an additional 12 months of Post 9/11 GI Bill entitlement.

Because you have your own GI Bill, you will get the housing allowance – even though you are married to another military member. Under the New GI Bill, your housing allowance would be determined based on the zip code of your school and the number of credits you are taking. If you are taking all your classes online, then it is figured differently – $673.50 for a full-time student regardless of where you go to school.

As far as degrees, normally the VA will not pay for another degree at the same level if you used your GI Bill to get your first degree. However, because your second bachelor’s degree relates to your associate’s they may authorize it. In your case, it would be best to contact the VA, explain what you want to do and see if they approve it.

Generally speaking Tyler, you will benefit more from switching to the new Post 9/11 GI Bill. With the GI Bill 2.0 implementation complete, the New GI Bill almost replicates the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) as far as what it will now pay in the way of training.

So let’s run the numbers. If you were to attend Butler County Community College full-time under the MGIB and had served for at least three years, you would get $1,473 per month and have to pay all your own education expenses. If you attend under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA would pay your tuition and eligible fees and you would get a monthly housing allowance and a book stipend once each semester.

The housing allowance is calculated based on the zip code of your school and the pay grade of an E-5 with dependents.  If you are a full-time student, you are eligible for the full housing allowance. If you attend less than full time, your housing allowance is prorated based on the number of credits you are taking.

The book stipend is paid at the rate of $41.67 per credit and has an annual cap of $1,000 per year. If you do the math, you’ll see that it would cover 24 credits.

Butler costs approximately $1,520 per semester including books. Calculating based on a four-month semester, you would earn $5,892 from the MGIB, but have to pay your $1,520 out of that amount.

If you used the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the VA would pay your tuition and fees of $1,520 and you would get $500 for books and $4,020 for a housing allowance for the semester. If you do the math, you will find that you will end up with about $200 more per semester if you use the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Butler has a very reasonable tuition rate. As you can see, you didn’t make an appreciable amount more with the Post 9/11 GI Bill, but the spread between the two GI bill gets greater as the tuition rate increases.