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Why Is My Army College Fund Payment Less Than I Expected?

March 12th, 2010
by Ron Kness
How exactly is the Army College Fund (ACF) paid out when using the Post-9/11 GI Bill? After nearly 2 semesters of waiting, the VA finally processed my ACF back-pay. I was excited as I had been scraping by for months, though I was shocked to see the amount was significantly less than the amount expected when I had made my education plans. These plans were made well in advance of deciding to go back to school, using different sources found on the Internet as a guide as well as a veterans representative from my planned school. All guides had shown that to figure the monthly ACF rate, you’d take the Total ACF amount divided by term of the GI Bill, which in my case was $40,000 / 36 months for a rate of $1111.11. All references to the the Post 9/11 GI Bill I have found say this formula remains the same and that the “kicker” amount is added each month onto the BAH stipend. After talking to several VA representatives, they informed me they do not calculate the rate, but that it is sent to them from the Army, and they figured this out by when I signed the contract. The rate in this case came to $461.11, which is dramatically less than expected. They also informed me this kicker is paid lump sum with the book allowance at the beginning of each term, and that these College funds are not “in addition to” the GI Bill but rather an “average” and that my kicker amount was actually quite high. Now, this is contrary to what I was told back when I enlisted 10 years ago, and if this is true I feel somehow cheated as I took the “extra college money” over a large enlistment bonus because I saw it as an investment. — Nicholas

Nicholas, from everything I’ve read, you are correct in your calculations – Total ACF divided by 36 months. I’m assuming you went the full term of your enlistment.  If not, then your ACF was reduced on a month-by-month basis and that could account for the lesser amount you are receiving.

As a recourse, you can send a copy of your college fund contract to the VA Regional Office servicing your area. They are right in saying they do not calculate the amount, they receive that figure from the Army, however, the Army may have calculated it wrong or sent the VA the wrong paperwork.  I would pursue it and let the VA tell you whether your amount is correct or not according to your paperwork.

As far as when you should get your kicker money Nickolas, it should come monthly as part of your Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance payment, however, under the MGIB, it is paid in a lump sum – different GI Bill, different rules.

This might be also something you want to look at. Even though the expiration date was the end of 2009, you don’t have anything to lose by trying it.

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Posted in New GI Bill, Veterans Education Benefits | 10 Comments »

10 Responses to “Why Is My Army College Fund Payment Less Than I Expected?”

  1. David says:
    March 17, 2010 at 10:51 am

    I spoke with someone from VA for the about the same reasons. One response I received from them was that the DOD will calculate the amount of the GI Bill at the time of enlistment, which in my case was Year 2000. It was $552 then. Multiply that by 36 gives you total GI Bill…$19872. Subtract that from $40,000ACF…$20128 is the total amount of kicker…divided by 36 months….$559.11 should be monthly payment Even doing this calculation my actual payment is far less than this amount. Now there are also other things figured into it like inflation, cost of living, etc that has raised the GI Bill, so you would think that it would be more not less, right? I was also told similar things by VA…I have no good answer why. Phone number for DOD education incentives is 1-800-872-8272. They are the ones who make the calculations. There is obviously something else figured into it but I couldn’t tell you what. By the way I get the chapter 30 benefits, which is the regular MGIB and the kicker is added into each monthly payment.

  2. Mike says:
    June 30, 2010 at 11:21 am

    I have been trying to figure this out as well. I also have the $40,000 ACF and after two semesters in school i was expecting a few thousand but i only received a little over $1,100.

  3. Jon says:
    October 14, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    I just got off the phone with VA education. I am having the same issue. I was finally told that i will be receiving 2394.00 for the semester. this times 8 is less than 20,000. i was supposed to have received 40,000. what gives? even after taking 28% for taxes it doesn’t add up. i know this doesn’t help but i just wanted to vent. does anyone else feel a little sore from taking it up……!
    i will call again to try and get a clear understanding of their calculations.

  4. Ron Kness says:
    October 15, 2010 at 4:38 pm

    The $40,000 figure is a combined figure for the GI Bill and Army College Fund, so you have to deduct the GI Bill portion out and what is left is your actual ACF.

    Ron

  5. Christopher says:
    October 16, 2010 at 7:55 am

    Yes, I am going through the same situation. from what I have read the ACF and the GI bill are supplemental, or you add the the GI bill and the ACF. How the hell do they come up with an equation where you subtract the ACF from the GI bill or vice versa to calculate educational benefits, there should be a plus sign not a minus sign people. Im still new to this whole thing but I am going to call and see what cant be done. Its good to know that there are other people who are in the same foxhole.

  6. Ron Kness says:
    October 18, 2010 at 9:03 am

    Actually it is fairly easy. If you have 36 months of MGIB, you multiply the number of months times monthly amount at the time you signed up for the MGIB and subtract that from your total ACF/GI Bill combined amount. In most cases, the ACF ends up being around $20,000 to $25,000 with the rest being the GI Bill amount.

    Ron

  7. Aby says:
    May 21, 2011 at 10:33 am

    Guys I recruited for 12 yrs and if u changed from the gi bill to the post 911 then u can’t get the gi bill with the acf, subtract the gi bill from the total amount then divide by 36 months and that should be the acf that u would get on top of the post 911 benefits as a full-time student. Until july of this yr it would be paid lum sum, starting in august it will be paid monthly. Hope this can clarify, take care.

  8. Ron Kness says:
    June 6, 2011 at 5:01 am

    Thanks for the info Aby. As you explained it is how I have interpreted it also.

  9. Brett Caldwell says:
    October 5, 2011 at 8:11 am

    So in effect, the governemnt admitted that they “blatently misled” enlisting soldiers (since at no point during the couciling sessions did they state that the $40,000 included the GI Bill) but they didn’t actually notify any of the soldiers/vets that there was a way of seeking compensation. It’s nice to find out about this two years after the fact.

    Like many others, I passed up a larger initial bonus based upon the myth of receiving the GI Bill IN ADDITION TO the $40k ACF. Perhaps we need to get a US Rep to get the wording in again.

  10. Ron Kness says:
    October 6, 2011 at 3:53 am

    Yes Brett, that whole Army College Fund thing was not properly presented.

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