Transferring Education Benefits (TEB) under the Post-9/11 GI Bill

Service Requirements for TEB

If a servicemember wants the perks of transferring benefits, he or she will need to trade for them. In the case of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, they're trading a college education for their spouse or children for a few more years of service. Note that the service commitment for TEB should run concurrently with any service commitments made if a servicemember elected additional Tuition Assistance (TA) benefits. Here are the service requirement options for electing TEB:

• If servicemembers have at least six years of service when they elect to transfer GI Bill benefits, they agree to four additional years of service from the date of the TEB election.
• If servicemembers have at least ten years of service when they elect TEB, but they're precluded by a policy to re-up for four more years, they need to agree to serve whatever maximum amount of time they're allowed to serve.
• If a servicemember is eligible to retire from the military with twenty-plus years of service between August 1, 2010 and August 1, 2011, he or she can transfer Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits in exchange for two additional years of service. If the servicemember is retirement-eligible between August 1, 2011 and August 1, 2012, he or she owes three years of service in exchange for TEB.

Who Gets Transferred Benefits

Though the GI Bill is a benefit that truly is earned, servicemembers can't transfer these benefits just anywhere. Individuals can choose the following people to be designated transferees:

• The servicemember's spouse
• Any or all of a servicemember's children (including step-children)
• And combination of a servicemember's children and spouse

Anyone who is receiving transferred benefits must be eligible for those benefits and enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) at the time the servicemember elects to transfer benefits.

Additionally, the servicemember retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time. For example, if a servicemember divorces his or her spouse that had been designated as a transferee, the servicemember can redistribute that former spouse's portion of the GI Bill benefit to any other designated transferee. Also, if a servicemember's child receives a full-ride scholarship or chooses to enlist in the military to earn her or his own military education benefits, that servicemember may want to modify the transfer so that the benefit is available to his or her other children.

How to Apply for TEB

Before servicemembers transfer their benefits, they might want to make sure that it's the right option for their education and career advancement. If they haven't yet spoken to someone at an Education Support Office (ESO) at the nearest active duty base, it might be worth a visit. Personnel at ESOs commonly give advice about education benefits and assist servicemembers with paperwork. They can also help these individuals create a comparison between their MGIB and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to make sure that the Post-9/11 Bill is the right choice for their education and career goals. Once servicemembers make the election to the Post-9/11 GI Bill, they can't change their minds.

Servicemembers can use a portion of their Post-9/11 GI Bill and transfer the remainder of the unused benefit. If an individual is already taking advantage of other education benefits while on active duty (such as the yearly $4,500 allowed under Tuition Assistance), then he or she may want to transfer the entire benefit. GI Bill benefits can only be transferred while on active duty. If a servicemember has already concluded his or her military service, it's too late for TEB.

Here are the steps military personnel need to take to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits:

1. Verify that the servicemember is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit and elect that benefit if it hasn't yet been done.
2. Verify that the spouse or dependents receiving benefits are listed in DEERS.
3. Make sure the servicemember has a Common Access Care, a DoD Self Service User ID, or a DFAS PIN. He or she will also need to have Internet Explorer installed on a computer with online access. With these resources handy, visit the TEB website.
4. Complete the application.

How and When Transferred Benefits Are Used

When servicemembers separate from the military, they have fifteen years to use their own Post-9/11 benefits. The same goes for their spouses. Additionally, a spouse doesn't have to wait to use the benefit when his or her servicemember is on active duty, but if that spouse waits until the servicemember is a veteran, the family can also realize some of the new GI Bill perks including: a monthly stipend equivalent to Basic Allowance Housing for an E-5 and a $1,000 yearly books and supplies stipend. These perks aren't available to spouses whose sponsoring servicemember is on active duty.

If a person completes at least ten years of military service, his or her dependents can use transferred benefits, even if the servicemember is on active duty. Unlike spouses, children can claim the monthly stipend and books and supplies stipend while their parent is on active duty. Additionally, the rule that a servicemember or spouse has to use the benefit with fifteen years after active duty concludes doesn't apply to children, which makes sense since dependents can't use GI Bill benefits until they have either turned 18 or received a high school diploma or GED. However, there is still an expiration date - children of servicemembers can't use the benefit after they turn 26.