Veterans who have served two or more separate periods of military service will be eligible for up to 12 months of additional education benefits under new plans unveiled Friday by Veterans Affairs leaders.
The announcement, made by VA Secretary Denis McDonough during remarks at the Student Veterans of America national convention in Colorado, comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last April that found the department improperly denied access to tuition benefits in certain cases limited.
Department officials said the measure could affect more than 1 million veterans nationwide, although legal experts say that number could be closer to 2 million.
“Every veteran has earned the right to receive a quality and affordable education,” Secretary of Benefits Joshua Jacobs said in a statement. “And under this new policy, many veterans will receive an additional 12 months of GI Bill benefits.”
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To qualify, veterans must have served at least two separate periods of service in the military, with each period meeting the standards for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or Montgomery GI Bill program.
Veterans who served at least two years before being honorably discharged while in service and paid into the Montgomery GI Bill may be eligible for that program. It pays about $2,400 per month in education benefits to individuals.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is more generous, awarding full tuition costs to state universities plus housing allowances and other educational assistance payments for individuals who served three years of active duty after September 2001. Partial benefits are available to anyone who has been employed. at least 90 days on active duty.
Veterans cannot access both benefits at the same time and must give up their participation in one program to access the other.
But the Supreme Court ruled in Rudisill v. McDonough that this requirement is unfair to individuals who have had sufficient time in service to qualify for both programs.
For example, under the new policy announced by VA, a veteran who served in the Army for five years but then re-enlisted in the Air Force for three years would be eligible for both education benefit programs.
Due to other federal regulations, individuals are limited to 48 months of government education benefits. Thus, a veteran who qualifies for both programs would be able to use the full 36 months of post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and then access an additional 12 months of Montgomery GI Bill payments, but would receive no further federal assistance afterward. can receive more.
The department has set up a page on its website to help veterans better understand the policy updates and their potential eligibility for additional education benefits.
In addition, VA officials announced they will extend the expiration dates for GI Bill benefits for all eligible veterans. If a veteran had five years of eligibility remaining at the time he gave up his Montgomery GI Bill benefits, VA will now grant him five years and 90 days of new eligibility to use the benefit.
“This policy will not only help veterans who apply for GI Bill benefits in the future – it will also allow VA to provide additional benefits to many veterans who have used GI Bill benefits in the past,” Jacobs said.
VA pays more than $8 billion annually in education payments. Since its introduction, the Post-9/11 GI Bill alone has benefited more than 2.7 million people.
