What Can I Do to Get My Post 9/11 GI Bill Transferred to My Daughters?
Q: I am a reservist. I have never had the GI Bill, but I have already finished college. What could I do to get it and transfer it to my daughters?
A: The short answer is deploy. Let me explain. The only way a Reservist or National Guardsman can qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill is to deploy for a minimum of 90-days on a Title 10 order in support of a contingency operation. You have to qualify first for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, because that is the only GI Bill having a transfer-of-benefits option.
The GI Bill you have as a Reservists (Montgomery GI Bill – Selected Reserves) does not have the transfer option. In addition, you will lose your GI Bill benefits 10 years from your date of benefits eligibility (NOBE) if you do not use them and of course they cease to exist once you separate.
The transfer of benefits policy differs between active duty servicemembers and Selected Reserve members. For the active duty, they have to be fully qualified for the Post 9/11 GI Bill before they can make a transfer. For Selected Reservists, they have to meet minimum qualifications of serving on a Title 10 order for a minimum of 90 days.
Of course, there is also a difference in the benefit between the two branches. Because the active duty has to qualify for 100% of the GI Bill, their GI Bill recipients (dependent children) get 100% of the benefit.
For the Reserves and National Guard personnel, if they qualify at the 60% level (from serving a one-year deployment for example), then their benefit recipients only get 60% of the benefit as the recipient inherits the servicemembers qualification tier.