Why Didn’t I Get My GI Bill Benefits Back When I Came Back In?
Q: I am about to retire from active duty this coming May. I am prior service, served about 4 years, got out for 3, then have been active since that point. I am trying to transfer, what I thought I had left of my GI Bill, to my youngest daughter. But I have been told that my benefits are no longer active. I thought since I came back onto active duty that I would get my GI Bill back. Do you have any answers for this one? Thanks.
A: I think it may be a procedural error, but in the end it will not make any difference. They way the Montgomery GI Bill rules read is your GI Bill is good for 10-years from your date of discharge and your original discharge was over 10 years ago. The system should reset when you get out again.
If your only concern with your MGIB is transferring education benefits to your daughter, then I wouldn’t be too concerned with it as the MGIB doesn’t have a benefits transfer option to it, so there isn’t a way to transfer benefits to your daughter anyway.
The good news is, you qualify for the Post 9/11 GI Bill which does have a transfer-to-options benefit to it. I caution you to start the process now as it has to be approved before you retire; once retired, you can’t make an initial transfer request.
Start the process by going to the TEB website and enter in the number of months that you want to give to your daughter from your unused education benefits. The interesting part will be how many months it will let you enter. The system may only allow you to transfer what you have left from your MGIB or it may show you have a full 36 months, if it does not pick up your prior use.
Once your request is approved, then she can go to the VONAPP website and submit VA Form 22-1990e. She will get back a Certificate of Eligibility that she will need when enrolling in school as a student using transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits.
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