In order to be eligible you must have served an aggregate of 90 days of active duty service, or served at least 30 days of continuous active duty service after Sept. 10, 2001 and discharged due to a service-connected disability.
One benefit of the Bill is time: you are eligible 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.
One thing to keep in mind, because Post-9/11 GI Bill
benefits are payable for education or training pursued on or
after Aug. 1, 2009, no payments can be made under this
program for training pursued before that date.
Under the Post-9/11 GI Bill you may receive up to 36
months of entitlements. The amount you receive is a percentage
(see table for exact percentages), as determined by
your length of active duty service, of the following:
- Amount of tuition and fees charged, not to exceed the most
expensive in-state undergraduate tuition at a public institution
of higher education;
- A yearly books and supplies stipend of up to $1,000;
- A one-time payment of $500 to
certain individuals relocating from
highly rural areas and;
- Monthly housing allowance equal
to the basic allowance for housing
amount payable to an E-5 with dependents,
in the same zip code as
the school paid to you. A note about
this: The housing allowance is not
payable for those pursuing training
at half time or less or for individuals
taking distance learning.
We all like examples and no ar-ticle would be complete without them. Let’s say that the full time tuition and fees at Boxley College (no such school exists in New Jersey) is $6,700 and that the highest in-state tuition and fees is $7,000.
Now say you served an aggregate period of three years on active duty and you are going to school full-time, in the above example you would be eligible for $6,700 for tuition fees (that’s 100 percent), the monthly housing allowance and $1,000 for books and supplies.
In another example, you have a total of 12 months of active duty service in the guard or reserves, and are going to school full-time, you would be eligible for $4,020 (60 percent of $6,700) for tuition and fees, $600 (60 percent of $1,000) for books and supplies allowance. One question that comes up is “If I am eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30), Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606,) or the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 1607), am I eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill?”
You may elect to receive benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill if, on Aug. 1, 2009, you have met the requirements to qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill and you are eligible for Chapters 30, 1606, 1607, or are serving in the Armed Forces.
You may receive benefits for training programs approved for Chapter 30 that are offered by an institution of higher learning. This includes graduate and undergraduate training, and vocational/technical training. You may also receive benefits for tutorial assistance and reimbursement of one licensing and certification test.
Additionally, if you were eligible for Chapters 30, 1606 or 1607, and you elected to use benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you would be eligible to receive benefits for onthe- job training, apprenticeship training, correspondence courses, flight training, preparatory courses, and national exams.
To keep current on the Post-9/ 11 GI Bill, visit www.gibill.va.gov for up to date information on this and other education benefits. |
