“This legislation contains 34 new provisions, the vast majority of which will enhance or expand education benefits for Veterans, Service members, Families, and Survivors.”
The President recently signed into law the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, boosting aid by $3 billion over the next 10 years and extending assistance to certain veterans and dependents who didn’t qualify.
Also known as the “Forever GI Bill,” named after the American Legion national commander who wrote the original GI Bill language in 1944. This legislation contains 34 new provisions, the vast majority of which will enhance or expand education benefits for Veterans, Service members, Families, and Survivors.
Most notably, Veterans who transitioned out of the military after January 1, 2013 will not be limited to the 15-year deadline for use of their GI Bill benefits – hence the bill’s nickname, “Forever GI Bill.” This law also restores benefits to Veterans, who were impacted by school closures since 2015, and expands benefits for our reservists, surviving dependents, Purple Heart recipients, in addition to many other improvements.
Lawmakers and Veterans have heralded the GI Bill expansion from its introduction less than one month ago through its passage in the House and Senate – calling it a “shining example” of bipartisanship.
The bill also includes dozens of provisions that will go into effect in August 2018.
Let’s look at the details of everything that the new GI Bill does.
Lifts 15-Year Time Limit to Use GI Bill
The legislation eliminates the current 15-year time limit on use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill for those who were discharged on or after January 1, 2013. This means that if you are a recent veteran you have forever to use all of your GI Bill benefit!
This removal of the 15-year time limit also applies to surviving dependents using the Fry Scholarship. Surviving spouses and children who first became eligible after January 1, 2013 will have no time limit to use their Fry Scholarship benefits.
More Guard, Reserve Members Now Eligible
Reservists called to active duty under sections 12304(a) (when a governor requests federal assistance in responding to a major disaster or emergency), or 12304(b) (when the DoD mobilizes reservists in support of a combatant command) are now eligible. Previously, only reservists called to active duty by presidential order as a result of a national emergency were eligible. This applies to all reservists mobilized after August 1, 2009, but reservists can only receive payment for classes that start after August 1, 2018.
Expands Benefit to All Purple Heart Recipients – Anybody who receives a Purple Heart will get the full GI Bill amount no matter how long they served on active duty.
Makes Changes to Dependents’ Benefits
Fry Scholarship – All Fry Scholarship recipients are now eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA) – Dependents’ Education Assistance (DEA) monthly payments will increase by about 50 percent, but the maximum number of months that a dependent can get DEA decreases from 45 to 36. This is effective August 1, 2018.
Transferred Benefits Changes – Some changes will be made to the rules about transferring the Post-9/11 GI Bill to make it easier to reallocate transferred benefits if the sponsor or dependent passes away.
Restores Benefits if College Closes – If you are attending a school that closes or loses accreditation and you don’t get credit for the classes you took, your GI Bill that you used for those classes will be given back to you. This is effective for any school closings that occurred after January 1, 2015.
Some Minor Payment Differences
Reimbursement for Testing Fees – Under the new law, you will normally be charged less GI Bill entitlement for taking standardized tests such as CLEP, GMAT, etc.
Benefit Tiers – Currently, your GI Bill benefits are based on the amount of active-duty time you have. If you have less than 36 months active duty, you may get less than the full amount of GI Bill benefits. (See our benefit tiers page.)
The new law makes some minor changes to this – specifically people that serve at least 90 days, but less than 6 months, on active duty will see their benefits increase from 40 percent to 50 percent of the maximum amount payable. People who serve at least 6 months and less than 12 months will see their benefits increase from 50 percent to 60 percent of the maximum amount payable.
This should result in at least $2,000 more annually in tuition for most people in those benefit tiers.
STEM Classes – STEM Scholarship There is a big push these days to get veterans enrolled in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs. This new GI Bill creates the “Edith Nourse Rogers Scholarship.”
This program will pay veterans up to $30,000 if they are enrolled in a STEM program, have used up all their GI Bill benefits, and have at least 60 semester/90 quarter hours credit toward a STEM degree. It also will pay those who already have a STEM degree and are working on a teaching certification. This is effective August 1, 2018.
High Technology Pilot Program – The new law also creates a High Technology Pilot Program that covers the full cost of high technology training not necessarily offered by a school. The details are sketchy, but the law says it is for people otherwise eligible under the GI Bill. Trainees will get the normal monthly housing allowance payments, and the VA has to monitor the companies giving the training to ensure the training results in gainful employment. This isn’t scheduled to start until spring 2019.
Minor Housing Allowance Changes – Housing allowance will be based on the campus location where you attend classes, not necessarily the main campus.
Reservists who are mobilized in the middle of a month will have their GI Bill housing allowance prorated. The previous law would stop the GI Bill housing allowance for the entire month if you were called up for at least one day during any month of school attendance, and no matter what day of the month you were mobilized on.
New GI Bill Recipients Will Get a Smaller Housing Allowance – There was a little-noticed provision in the 2015 military budget that slows the rate of increase in Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) so that active-duty BAH no longer pays the full amount of the housing cost.
As a result of that law, active-duty BAH is being reduced by one percent every year from 2015 to 2019 so that by 2020 BAH will only cover 95 percent of a military member’s housing cost. The VA’s Monthly Housing Allowance, which is paid to GI Bill recipients, wasn’t affected by the earlier legislation.
This new law changes that. Effective January 1, 2018, the GI Bill housing allowance will also decrease. This will mean that anyone eligible for the GI Bill after January 2018 will get an average of $100 a month less in housing allowance.
This impacts only those who begin getting GI Bill benefits after January 1, 2018. If you are currently getting GI Bill benefits, you will see no changes.
As you can see, the proposed changes will impact not only veterans but their families as well. For a detailed explanation and section by section breakdown, check out Student Veterans of America.
What This Means for You
If you are a veteran who was discharged BEFORE January 1, 2013 you will see no changes, you still have 15 years to use your GI Bill and your housing allowance will remain unchanged.
If you are a veteran who was discharged AFTER January 1, 2013 you now have forever to use your GI Bill benefits. Your housing allowance will also remain at the higher rate.
If you are on active duty, have never used your GI Bill and will be discharged on or after January 1, 2018 you have forever to use your GI Bill, BUT your housing allowance will be at the lower rate (approximately $100 less per month), UNLESS you start using your GI Bill before the end of the year.
Bottom Line – if you are currently on active duty OR have been discharged after January 1, 2013 AND you haven’t used your GI Bill yet, USE IT! You are in the small group of people who get the best of both worlds! You will no longer have a time limit to use your GI Bill, and you will get at least $1,000 more a year than if you wait until after January 1, 2018 to begin using your GI Bill.
Education – it makes a world of difference!
