Will I Get Retroactive Pay from August 1, 2009 for My Title 32 Time?
Q: I currently qualify for 80% under the Post 911 GI Bill for my two deployments. I have been Title 32 AGR since March 2003. I understand that under the GI Bill 2.0 Title 32 time will count and should put me at the 100% mark. Do I have to submit documentation to get credit for the Title 32 time? If I do receive the 100% based on previous service, will I get retroactive pay from 1 August 2009 until now? Thanks
A: First, I want to clarify your Title 32 facts as you explained them in your question. Only Title 32 time back to August 1, 2009 will apply toward your Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility. Any Title 32 time previous to that date will not count (at least at this time). So actually you would have two years of Post 9/11 GI Bill eligible time from your deployments and an additional two years of Title 32 time putting you at the 100% tier.
Yes, you will have to submit documentation verifying your Title 32 time. A set of orders with dates showing your Title 32 time would suffice for documentation. The other caveat to the GI Bill 2.0 Title 32 changes was that you couldn’t start using your Post 9/11 GI Bill entitlement acquired from Title 32 time until October 1st.
While the VA does pay back pay, based on what I have read, I think you could probably only get reimbursement back to August 1, 2010 due to the VA’s one-year back pay rule, but I could be wrong. However, the VA is very explicit on their website they will not start paying benefits until after October 1st.