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FINANCIAL AID
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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
- Eligibility
- Payments
- What Can I Use My Benefits For?
- Licensing & Certification Exam Reimbursement
- Activating Your Benefit
- Yellow Ribbon Provision
- Duration of Benefit
- CGA Grads
- Transferring Benefits to Dependents
- Procedure for Transferring Benefits
- Re-distributing Benefits Among Transferees
- Deductions from Initial 36-month entitlement
- Top-up
- Buy-up
- Deciding Whether to Switch Benefits
POST-9/11 VETERANS EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2008 - OVERVIEW
Procedure for Transferring Benefits to Dependents
You may only transfer benefits if you are in the uniformed Coast Guard.
Your obligated service will begin on the day the transfer is approved.
Ashore Personnel
If you're eligible for benefits under the new GI Bill and want to transfer them to one or more dependents, go to the Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB) web site. Once there, you have two options for logging in: use your CAC or create a milConnect user name and password.
It's probably a good idea to click on the blue "Sign Up Now" button to create the milConnect user name and password since you won't have a CAC and may need to go into this web site again after leaving the Coast Guard.
The TEB User Manual may also be of help.
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If you use your CAC to log in, do not choose DOD EMAIL when given the option.
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Once you've logged in, click on the "Education" tab then
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click on the "Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB)" tab.
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Under "Sponsor", check your personal information for correctness.
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Under "Select the educational program from which to transfer benefits" you'll see each of your dependents listed.
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Allocate the number of months you'd like to transfer to each of your dependents. If you've never used any GI Bill education benefits before, you will almost certainly have 36 months to start with. Check with the Department of Veterans' Affairs to see how many months you have left if you've ever used any GI Bill benefits (call 888-442-4551 or 800-827-1000).
□ If you’re transferring the benefit to children, use their 26th birthdate.
□ For your spouse, enter the date that’s 15 years from your expected retirement or separation date.
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If you don't plan to use your benefits yourself, you should seriously consider transferring all 36 months of benefits to your dependents. Your benefits will not survive you if you die, no one will be able to use any undistributed months of benefits.
Once you've transferred your benefits, you will always be able to modify the distribution of your entitlement among your dependents.
After you submit your TEB transfer request, the DoD will forward your request to the Coast Guard's Personnel Services Command, which will determine your eligibility and will eventually send you notification you've been found eligible to transfer all or some of your benefit.
You can return to this web site later to check on the status of your transfer request. You'll see a status indicator which will read either “Submitted”, “Pending Approval”, or “Request Approved.”
Once your request has been approved, you'll see (at the bottom of the "Sponsor" information section) a link labeled "Approval Form".
See below for what to expect after the transfer has been approved.
Afloat Personnel
CG-6 has provided a step-by-step process for shipboard personnel (using a shipboard workstation) to access the TEB site and complete the benefits transfer process.
Before you start the first step, however, you'll need two things: a Coast Guard workstation with common access card (CAC) reader installed and the 6- to 8-digit PIN you entered when you got your CAC.
Units are authorized to purchase CAC readers (for about $8) and have them installed by their IT personnel. The CAC reader by itself will not let users log on using the CAC, however. As to your PIN, if you've forgotten it you'll need to get it re-set by a facility that issues CACs.
Once the CAC reader has been installed and you have your PIN, here's the process.
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Log onto your shipboard Coast Guard workstation as you normally do (i.e., with your user name and password, NOT using your CAC).
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Insert your CAC into the reader.
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Open Internet Explorer and go to the TEB web site.
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Enter your CAC PIN when asked.
Remember: logging onto the computer is a separate process from logging into the TEB web site. You may not have to use your CAC for the first process; you must use it for the second.
What Happens After Benefit Transfer is Approved
After your transfer request has been approved, the student must complete the "Application for Family Member to Use Transferred Benefits" (VA form 22-1990E) and submit it to the DVA for processing, or complete the DVA's on-line version of the same form. (While both the PDF/paper and on-line forms serve the same function, the on-line version is probably more secure (less likely to be lost) even if it is a bit more involved.
Although the student fills out most of this form, there's one section of the form you have to fill out, as well.
Dependent children can't submit this form until they've graduated from high school or turned 18, whichever comes first. S/he may be able to fill out most of it and save it, then open it up again and click "SUBMIT" when s/he turns 18 or graduates.
Although the DVA quotes a processing time of between 3 and 6 months, as of the date this page was last updated it's been taking only two to three weeks.
After doing this, the student will receive a Certificate of Eligibility by mail from the DVA. I strongly recommend copying and/or scanning it (both sides of each page) and putting the original away somewhere safe.
The student then takes a copy of the Certificate of Eligibility to the person at her school who deals with GI Bill matters (it could be a special GI Bill/Veterans' Affairs office, it could be the business office, cashier, or bursar). Once she's done that, it's a good idea to make a note of the date and time of her dealings with the person in that office, as well as that person's name. It doesn't have to be anything formal, but contemporaneous notes are legitimate evidence she's done all she could do if something doesn't happen that should have. For example,
"1115, 12 June 2014 -- Talked with Ms. Jane Smith in the Bursar's office about my GI Bill benefit. She took my Certificate of Eligibility, made a copy, gave the original back to me, and said she'd take care of it."
The student's first monthly housing allowance deposit in her bank account should start at the beginning of the month after the school term begins. And the book & supply stipend should be deposited at the beginning of the school term.