JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In response to a 2024 Supreme Court decision, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday that GI Bill benefits are expanding.
Veterans who served multiple periods of military service, like those who reenlisted, are now eligible for up to an additional 12 months of education benefits.
The VA explained that the change eliminates a limitation that previously existed for how many months max of education benefits a veteran could qualify for.
Under the previous policy, eligible veterans who served at least two periods of service were limited to a maximum total of 36 months of GI Bill benefits, between the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
But under the updated policy, veterans can now qualify for up to 48 months of total GI Bill benefits.
Specifically, veterans who served at least two qualifying periods of service — one that qualified them for the Montgomery GI Bill and a second that qualified them for the Post-9/11 GI Bill — may be eligible to receive up to 12 months of additional GI Bill benefits (bringing them to a total of 48 months).
“Veterans that were working on their degrees before that might not have been able to finish their degree using the old basis for the GI Bill, are going to be able to do that now,” Fred Berley, operations supervisor for the City of Jacksonville Veterans Affairs, said.
Berley emphasized the positive effects this expansion will have on the local community.
“And then the community, once these veterans graduate whatever program they’re in, they’ll be out, able to go out and hopefully get jobs that will satisfy the needs of the city,” Berley said.
This expansion could impact as many as 1.04 million veterans and beneficiaries, the VA said.
The department will be launching a targeted outreach campaign to make sure that every veteran gets the additional benefits for which they are eligible.
“This policy will not only help veterans who apply for GI Bill benefits in the future — it will also allow VA to provide additional benefits to many veterans who used GI Bill benefits in the past,” said Under Secretary for Benefits Joshua Jacobs. “Every veteran has earned the right to get a good, affordable education — and under this new policy, many veterans will get an additional 12 months of GI Bill benefits.”
Of the 1.04 million veterans who may potentially be eligible for an additional 12 months of benefits, the VA will be able to automatically adjudicate the claims for approximately 660,000 without any further action required on their part.
For all remaining veterans, the VA will be reaching out to them directly to encourage them to file a claim.
As a part of the policy, the VA is also extending the expiration dates for using GI Bill benefits for eligible veterans.
For each veteran with multiple periods of service who chose the Post-9/11 GI Bill over the Montgomery GI Bill, VA will reinstate the time they had remaining at the time of their election plus 90 days. For example, if a veteran chose to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill at a time when they had 5 years left to use the Montgomery GI Bill, they would be given 5 years plus 90 days to use any additional Montgomery GI Bill benefits. To receive an expiration date extension, applications must be submitted by Oct. 1, 2030.
Since its inception, the Post-9/11 GI Bill has paid over $143 billion to over 2.7 million beneficiaries. The GI Bill has long been used as a recruiting and retention tool for the military. It has enabled veterans and service members — as well as their eligible dependents, through the Department of Defense Transfer of Education Benefits program — to train and attend school while greatly reducing their out-of-pocket costs.
To learn more about this change, including how to apply, visit the Rudisill webpage.