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- GI Bill (overview)
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- Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008
NEW GI BILL DETAILS
- ALCOASTs
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- What Can I Use My Benefits For?
- Licensing & Certification Exam Reimbursement
- Activating Your Benefit
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- Procedure for Transferring Benefits
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- Deductions from Initial 36-month entitlement
- Top-up
- Buy-up
- Deciding Whether to Switch Benefits
POST-9/11 VETERANS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2008
Making Your Election Decision
Now that the VA’s accepting applications for education benefits under the new GI Bill, a lot of people are trying to figure out whether they should make the switch and when they should make the switch.
Never Enrolled in MGIB-AD
If you declined to enroll in the MGIB-AD (either long ago when you had the option to switch from VEAP to the MGIB-AD or while you were in boot camp), this is an easy decision. You should absolutely apply for the new GI Bill. (You do this via VA form 22-1990 or the VA's on-line version of the same form.)
You’ll be able to use the benefits included in the new GI Bill starting on the date of your letter of eligibility, which you'll receive from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) some time after you submit your application. (The DVA quotes a 3- to 4-month processing time for applications.)
Enrolled in MGIB-AD
If you didn’t decline to enroll in the MGIB-AD (i.e., if you paid some or all of the twelve monthly $100 payments), keep in mind that you have many years in which to elect benefits under the new GI Bill. That is, you don't have to sign up right now or in the immediate future or forever lose your right to do so. You're eligible for MGIB-AD benefits for ten years from the date you leave the Coast Guard. So you have at least until then to relinquish your MGIB-AD in favor of the new GI Bill.
Once you submit the election form (VA form 22-1990 or the VA's on-line version of the same form) you must forever relinquish your entitlement to benefits under the MGIB-AD. That is, once you change benefit programs you can’t go back.
If you've used some of your MGIB-AD benefits, the number of entitlement months you'll have under the new GI Bill will be the number you have remaining under the MGIB-AD. However, if you've exhausted your entire 36-month MGIB-AD entitlement, you'll be entitled to 12 months of benefits under the new GI Bill.
In any case, you’ll be able to use the benefits included in the new GI Bill starting on the date of your certificate of eligibility, which you'll receive from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) some time after you submit your application. (The DVA quotes a 3- to 4-month processing time for applications.)
Reservists
If you're a Reservist, keep in mind that you're ineligible for benefits under the new GI Bill until you've accrued at least 90 days on active duty. (Time spent in boot camp, in "A" school, or drilling does not count toward the required eligibility period.) That means if you submit an application for new GI Bill benefits (VA form 22-1990 or the VA's on-line version of the same form) before you've accrued at least 90 days of active duty service, it will be rejected.
The more active duty time you accrue, the higher your benefit level will be. If you eventually do elect benefits under the new GI Bill, and have used some of your MGIB-SR benefits, the number of entitlement months you have remaining under it will be available to you under the new GI Bill.
Once you've accrued at least 90 days of active duty service and submit the election form (VA form 22-1990 or the VA's on-line version of the same form), you must give up forever your entitlement to benefits under one of the other GI Bill programs (the MGIB-SR, REAP, or the MGIB-AD). That is, once you change benefit programs you can’t go back.
You’ll be able to use the benefits included in the new GI Bill starting on the date of your certificate of eligibility, which you'll receive from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) some time after you submit your application. (The DVA quotes a 3- to 4-month processing time for applications.)
What to Consider
Here are some things to consider before making that irrevocable election.
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Will the school I'm interested in waive tuition and fees because I'm a veteran?
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Will I be receiving any other financial aid?
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Will I be eligible for tuition assistance?
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What type of training/education am I undertaking (e.g., culinary school, college degree, welding certificate)?
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What percentage of new GI Bill benefits am I entitled to?
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What's the E-5 BAH rate for the Zip code my school's in?
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How many credits am I going to be taking per term?
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Am I going to take all my courses through distance learning?
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What are the current MGIB-AD, MGIB-SR, or REAP monthly rates?
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Did I contribute to the Buy-up option?
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How much will each benefit pay?
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Is the expiration date for my benefit important to me?
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Am I going to want to transfer my benefit to a dependent?
Benefits Comparison Worksheet
Use this worksheet to roughly calculate your benefits under the new GI Bill, the MGIB-AD, MGIB-SR, REAP, and tuition assistance (with or without Top-up).
Also check out NewGIBill.org, a new web site created by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. It provides an overview of benefits and eligibility rules for the new GI Bill, including an eligibility calculator.
More Considerations
(courtesy of the VA's Atlanta Regional Processing Office)
When reading the following information, remember that you're entitled to a total maximum of 48 months of education benefits under all GI Bill education programs.
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If you're currently entitled to benefits under the MGIB-AD, and you elect to receive benefits under the new GI Bill, you'll have a new GI Bill entitlement of 36 months minus whatever you used under the MGIB-AD. If you exhausted your MGIB-AD entitlement before electing the new GI Bill (i.e., you used all 36 months of MGIB-AD benefits), you'll be entitled to only 12 months of benefits under the new GI Bill.
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If you're currently eligible for MGIB-SR or REAP benefits and elect benefits under the new GI Bill, you'll receive a maximum entitlement of 36 months of benefits under the new GI Bill (subject to the 48-month provision described above).
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If you're currently eligible for benefits under the MGIB-AD and either the MGIB-SR or REAP you should relinquish your MGIB-SR or REAP benefit rather than your MGIB-AD. If you do this, your entitlement under the new GI Bill will be the lesser of 48 months minus any MGIB-SR or REAP benefits you've already used or 36 months. As long as you're eligible for them, you can relinquish MGIB-SR or REAP benefits even if you've never activated them.
Examples
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You're an AST1 with 10 years of service. You didn't say "no" to the MGIB-AD when you went through boot camp and $1,200 was deducted from your pay. You've never used any MGIB-AD benefits and want to elect the new GI Bill so you can transfer your entitlement to your daughter. When you make the election, you're entitlement will be 36 months of new GI Bill benefits.
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Same situation as in #1 above, except you used three months of your MGIB-AD benefit via Top-up. When you transfer your benefit to your daughter, she'll have only 33 months of benefits to use.
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Both you and your husband are on active duty have been on active duty for more than eight years, didn't say "no" to the MGIB-AD while in boot camp, and $1,200 was deducted from your pay. Both of you are also eligible for the highest payment rate under the new GI Bill, if you elected to receive it and relinquish your MGIB-AD benefit. One of you was medically discharged and wants to start going to college. The spouse who remains on active duty will continue to be eligible for BAH and the spouse who's now a veteran will be eligible for all three benefits under the new GI Bill: tuition and fees payments, the housing allowance, and the book stipend.
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Let's say you and your husband are E-5s and have the MGIB-AD but have never used any of your 36-month entitlements. Your husband is thinking of getting out and going to school full time. And both of you are considering relinquishing your MGIB-AD benefits in favor of benefits under the new GI Bill. If you do, you can transfer part or all of your new GI Bill benefit to your husband. This would give him as much as 72 months of entitlement (rather than his 36) which he could use not only in pursuit of a degree but also for other types of programs authorized under the MGIB-AD (e.g., culinary school, a 100-ton license preparation course, truck-driving school, an apprenticeship). And if he was otherwise eligible, he could receive the housing allowance and the book stipend for the whole time.