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Post 9/11 GI Bill, Chapter 33

Visit www.gibill.va.govfor up-to-date information on this and other education benefits. 

The Post - 9/11 GI Bill is a new education benefit program for individuals who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001.  Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits are payable for training pursued on or after August 1, 2009. No payments can be made under this program for training pursued before that date.  

Eligibility:

You may be eligible if you served at least 90 aggregate days on active duty after September 10, 2001, and you are still on active duty or were honorably

• discharged from the active duty; or
• released from active duty and placed on the retired list or temporary disability retired list; or
• released from active duty and transferred to the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve; or
• released from the active duty for further service in a reserve component of the Armed Forces.

You may also be eligible if you were honorably discharged from active duty for a service-connected disability and you served 30 continuous days after September 10, 2001.  

If, on August 1, 2009, you are eligible for one of these programs and you qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you may make an irrevocable election to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Note: Once you elect to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you will no longer be eligible to receive benefits under the program from which you elected the Post-9/11 GI Bill

Benefits Amounts:

Based on your length of active duty service, you are entitled to a percentage of the following:

• Cost of tuition and fees, not to exceed the most expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution of higher education (paid to school);
• Monthly housing allowance* equal to the basic allowance for housing payable to a military E-5 with dependents, in the same zip code as your school (paid to you);
• Yearly books and supplies stipend of up to $1000 per year (paid to you); and -A one-time payment of $500 paid to certain individuals relocating from highly rural areas.

*NOTE - The housing allowance and books and supplies stipend are not payable to individuals on active duty. The housing allowance is not payable to those pursuing training at half time or less or to individuals enrolled in distance learning.  

 Months of Assistance:

Generally, you may receive up to 36 months of entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  

Length of Eligibility:

You will be eligible for benefits for 15 years from your last period of active duty of at least 90 consecutive days. If you were released for a service-connected disability after at least 30 days of continuous service, you will also be eligible for benefits for 15 years.

Transfer Entitlement to Dependents:

The Post-9/11 GI Bill allows service members (officer or enlisted, active duty or Selected Reserve), on or after August 1, 2009, to transfer unused education benefits to immediate family members (spouse and children). The service member must have at least six years of service, and commit to an additional four years of service in order to transfer benefits to a spouse or child. Because of the potential impact of this benefit on recruiting and retention, transferability policy is determined by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the military services.  

The following DoD Fact Sheet on Post 9/11 GI Bill Transferability, dated April 28, 2009, can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/prhome/docs/Post‐9‐11%20GI%20Bill%20Transferability.pdf . For the latest information on policy and rules for transferability of Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, visit the DoD GI Bill website at http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/ . 

Eligible Individuals

Any member of the Armed Forces (active duty or Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted) on or after August 1, 2009, who is eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and  

• Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election.
• Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or selected reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (service or DoD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or
• Is (or becomes) retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active duty or 20 qualifying years of reserve service.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required.
• For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, no additional service is required.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required.
• For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years of additional service after approval of transfer required.

 Eligible Family Members

An individual approved to transfer an entitlement to educational assistance under this section may transfer the individual's entitlement to:

• The individual's spouse.
• One or more of the individual's children.
• Any combination of spouse and child.

A family member must be enrolled in the Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) and be eligible for benefits, at the time of transfer to receive transferred educational benefits.

• A child's subsequent marriage will not affect his or her eligibility to receive the educational benefit; however, after an individual has designated a child as a transferee under this section, the individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.
• A subsequent divorce will not affect the transferee's eligibility to receive educational benefits; however, after an individual has designated a spouse as a transferee under this section, the eligible individual retains the right to revoke or modify the transfer at any time.

 Nature of Transfer

An eligible Service member may transfer up to the total months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, or the entire 36 months if the member has used none.  

Family member use of transferred educational benefits is subject to the following:

• Spouse:
• May start to use the benefit immediately.
• May use the benefit while the member remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from active duty.
• Is not eligible for the monthly stipend or books and supplies stipend while the member is serving on active duty.
• Can use the benefit for up to 15 years after the service member's last separation from active duty.
• Child:
• May start to use the benefit only after the individual making the transfer has completed at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces.
• May use the benefit while the eligible individual remains in the Armed Forces or after separation from active duty.
• May not use the benefit until he/she has attained a secondary school diploma (or equivalency certificate), or reached 18 years of age.
• Is entitled to the monthly stipend and books and supplies stipend even though the eligible individual is on active duty.
• Is not subject to the 15-year delimiting date, but may not use the benefit after reaching 26 years of age.

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For the latest information on policy and rules for transferability of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, visit the DoD website at http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/

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For more information on the Post-9/11 GI Bill, call toll-free 1-888-GIBILL-1          (1-888-442-4551), or visit the VA GI Bill Website at http://www.gibill.va.gov

Application Procedures:

Eligible Individuals:

The Department of Veterans Affairs is now accepting applications for the Post-9/11 GI Bill (a.k.a. chapter 33).  Individuals must complete VA Form 22-1990 which can be accessed on the VA's website using VONAPP,  http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp. Paper applications may also be submitted, http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/22-1990%285-09%29.pdf

The following chart gives the supporting documentation that must be submitting to the VA with your application:

 If you are eligible the VA will send you a Certificate of Eligibility (CoE).  You must deliver a copy of the CoE to the Veterans Certifying Official at Marist College.  The College will use the CoE to determine your tuition liability. 

Eligible Dependents:

The eligible individual (service member) must first apply to the Department of Defense to transfer education benefits to a dependent.

Step 1:

The Department of Defense (DoD) is now accepting applications for transferability of education benefits (TEB) under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  General policies for TEB are available at http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/0409_gibill/

For specific questions on your eligibility for TEB, please call your Service career counselor or personnel center.   VA does not determine eligibility for TEB.   

To apply for TEB go to  https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/TEB/consent?continueToUrl=%2FTEB%2F.  

Step 2:

Upon approval, family members may apply to use transferred benefits with VA by completing VA Form 22-1990e in VONAPP. http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp.  Paper forms may also be submitted, http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-22-1990e-ARE.pdf

VA Form 22-1990e should only be completed and submitted to VA by the family member after DoD has approved the request for TEB.  Do not use VA Form 22-1990e to apply for TEB.