Post-9/11 GI Bill applications now accepted - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Post-9/11 GI Bill applications now accepted

The Department of Veterans Affairs began taking applications for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits Friday.

But VA officials are warning people who might be eligible for more than one veterans education benefits plan to think carefully before signing up for the program because they might be costing themselves money.

Many current service members and veterans are eligible for both the Post-9/11 GI Bill and its forerunner, the Montgomery GI Bill. Applying for the Post-9/11 GI Bill is an irrevocable decision to use the new benefits plan instead of the old plan.

For most people, the Post-9/11 GI Bill that takes effect Aug. 1 will be far more generous. It covers full tuition up to the cost of undergraduate in-state costs at the most expensive four-year public college or university in the state where the student is attending school, plus a living stipend, book allowance and other assistance not available under previous benefits plans.

The combination results in benefits payments spread over 36 months that will total $75,000 to $90,000 for most users, a senior defense official estimated earlier this week.

But there are reasons why some people who signed up for the Montgomery GI Bill program — the benefit been available since 1986 to enlisted members and officers if the officer’s college education was not fully funded by the military — might want to stick with the old plan.

For example, someone attending a low-cost college in an area with a low cost of living might receive more money from the flat Montgomery GI Bill rate — now $1,321 a month for a full-time student who served three years or more on active duty — than from full tuition and the living stipend under the new GI Bill plan.

A veteran attending a state school that does not charge any tuition for veterans also might do better under the Montgomery GI Bill if the living stipend for their campus would be less than $1,321.

People who want to attend vocational schools, apprenticeship programs and some other noncollege training also should stick with the Montgomery GI Bill because the training may not be covered by the new program.

The VA has information to help veterans compare benefits under the two programs.

It is possible for people eligible for both the Post-9/11 GI Bill and the Montgomery GI Bill to use both, with a maximum combined entitlement of 48 months of benefits, VA officials said.

For that reason, officials said people who have remaining Montgomery GI Bill benefits may want to delay enrolling in the new program.

Applications — which can be found online — being filed now for the Post-9/11 GI Bill will be processed to determine eligibility, with a certificate being issued explaining an individual’s entitlement. Payments for the Post-9/11 GI Bill will not begin until Aug. 1, when the program formally takes effect.