The recent law that established enhanced VA education benefits under the new Post-9/11 GI Bill program gave the VA until August 1, 2009, to begin processing claims applications. The new education program provides the most sweeping changes to VA education benefits in decades. VetsFirst and other veterans’ advocates were, and still are, concerned that the VA might not be ready to start processing claims within less than a year from the time that the Post-9/11 GI Bill was signed into law.
Nevertheless, with a new contractor on board to design and implement an electronically based claims processing system, the VA has announced that it will begin accepting claims for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits beginning May 1, 2009. The new application process will be fully electronic over a secure Internet connection that can be accessed through VA’s education benefits website (http://www.gibill.va.gov/).
Early enrollments in the new GI Bill program will allow the VA to work out bugs in a process that is expected to have more than 450,000 applicants for higher education benefits in the first year of the program. Complex benefit payment calculations include such factors as the length of active military service since September 11, 2001, the number of credits to be earned , the location of the institution of higher learning and, in the case of private institutions, whether the college or university is taking part in a tuition-reduction program.
Highlights of the Post-9/11 GI Bill program include the payment of full tuition and fees for attending public colleges and universities at a rate equal to the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher learning in the state where the veteran is attending school, a monthly living and housing expense stipend and a book allowance. In addition, service members and veterans will be able to transfer their eligibility for education benefits to certain family members. Being pre-certified as eligible for the new education benefits program will make it easier to complete the enrollment process later this summer when the program is fully launched.
While applications will be accepted soon, there is still some reason for worry that the VA will still not be ready to go on August 1, 2009. The Department of Defense has yet to announce how service members will qualify for transferring unused benefits to a spouse or a child. The VA has indicated that even though there remain unknowns in the final application process, potential enrollees will be encouraged to apply early and that full details are still to come.
Stay tuned to the VetsFirst website for further developments in the Post-9/11 GI Bill program. Our complete guide to VA education benefits will be available shortly.
