The Department of Defense (DOD) recently made a change to the Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, changing the ability for service members to transfer their earned benefits to family members. The DOD called the new policy a “substantive change” in a news release issued on July 12. The new policy puts a deadline on the time that service members are able to transfer GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child.
What is Different?
The guidance released by DOD officials states that “effective one-year from the date of this change, eligibility to transfer those benefits will be limited to service members with less than 16 years of total service (active duty service and/or selected reserves as applicable).”
This shortens the window in which service members can transfer their GI Bill benefits to a family member. Under the old policy, there were no restrictions on when a transfer could occur, provided the service member had met the minimum service time of 6 years and committed to serving an additional 4 years after the transfer.
The new policy is meant to refocus the benefit on retaining career military members. “This change continues to allow career service members that earned this benefit to share it with their family members while they continue to serve,” said Director of Accessions Policy at the Office of the Secretary of Defense Stephanie Miller.
(Credit: Facebook/Joanne Braun-Barber)
According to the 2015 Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission report, the transferability of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is meant to serve as a retention tool. The report made recommendations focused on “ensuring that the Services can maintain the most professional All-Volunteer Force possible.” The compensation, benefits, and policies outlined were meant to provide fair and competitive pay and benefits for service members and their families, while being responsive to the needs of the military.
The 4-year service obligation upon transferring GI Bill benefits to a family member was added in 2013.
What Stays the Same?
The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides education financial assistance to those serving in the military to help with tuition and living expenses.
Service members serving 90 days on active duty are eligible to receive partial benefits, with the percentage increasing as they continue to serve. They are eligible for 100 percent of the benefit upon serving 36 months on active duty.
The benefit includes full-time tuition for post-secondary education at in-state schools and a comparable amount towards tuition at a private or international school. Some veterans also receive financial assistance with housing. The amount varies by the location where the veteran is going to school.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill will pay for up to 36 months of undergraduate, graduate, or vocational programs, job training, flight training, distance-learning, licensure programs, or testing. A stipend for books is also included in the benefit.
The benefit will still be transferrable to a service member’s spouse or child. The service member and spouse have 15 years to use the benefit after the service member’s separation from active service. Children who have received the benefit through the transfer option can use it from the time they graduate high school or turn 18 years old up until they are 26 years old.
#DoD issues substantive change to its policy on the transfer by #servicemembers in the uniformed services of Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits to eligible family member recipients. Read more ➡️ https://t.co/kHgtyUyNz6
— Department of Defense 🇺🇸 (@DeptofDefense) July 13, 2018
GI Bill benefits are often used by service members seeking degrees and higher education. They can be used by an active duty service member or veteran who has earned GI Bill eligibility based on a minimum time of service.
The ability to transfer these benefits to a family member keeps many individuals in the service beyond their initial commitment. Limiting the time that the benefit can be transferred puts the emphasis on retention earlier in the service member’s career. Those who serve past 16 years are most likely on a career path and do not need additional incentives to remain committed to serving. Those who serve for 20 years are eligible for retirement benefits, another incentive for a career of military service.
