Massive GI Bill Benefits Boost Over $50,000 For Eligible Veterans

Veterans who served at least two qualifying periods of service will be eligible for up to twelve more months of GI Bill benefits. For some, that means they may receive over $50,000 more in GI Bill benefits beyond the initial 36 months.

The Department of Veterans Affairs just made the announcement following the April 2024 Supreme Court decision mandating the additional entitlement previously denied.

Under the new law, and VA’s corresponding policy, veterans with qualifying service can receive up to 12 additional months up to the present cap on education benefits of 48 months. VA estimates the change could impact up to 1.04 million veterans. (Attorneys for the successful veteran estimated the number around 1.7 million veterans impacted.)

For veterans in areas like San Francisco, the additional 12 months means many veterans will receive $4,449 per month up to 12 months, or $53,388 plus possible tuition benefits. This might apply to a veteran who opted to use the Montgomery GI Bill first, and now that veteran has 12 months newly granted for the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

Veterans who used the Post 9/11 instead of the Montgomery GI Bill may be able to receive up to 12 months of the latter GI Bill. This means you’ll get the fixed monthly stipend of $2,438, which is still a lot better than $0.

The agency’s new policy also grants an extension of 90 days beyond the agency’s newly calculated delimiting date after you get approved. For example, you had 10 years to use the Montgomery GI Bill, 15 years to use the Post 9/11 GI Bill, or forever to use the Post 9/11 GI Bill if you separated from active duty on or after January 1, 2013. If you had 5 years left to use the GI Bill when you had to choose which to use, VA will add that 5 years back as a delimiting date plus 90 days.

Basically, VA will grant 90 days plus the new delimiting date to use the benefit, and impacted veterans who are outside the usage window must submit a GI Bill claim application no later than October 1, 2030.

Veterans Affairs Press Announcement

The press release came out January 3, 2025, but do not be deceived. It was not the policy that simply created the additional benefit. It took a massive litigation.

Titled, “VA expands access to GI Bill benefits for Veterans who served multiple periods of service,” it would seem the agency wants readers to believe they came up with the idea all on their own.

If you trust the agency’s take on this, you might come to believe the Biden Unity Agenda set this all in motion, and with the simple change of a policy, whamo, hundreds of thousands of veterans will get a lot in GI Bill benefits. Oh, and the agency even added an extra 90 days onto the tolling deadline to give more time to use the benefits.

Per the press release:

Supporting Veterans and their families is a key pillar of President Biden’s Unity Agenda for the nation. VA and the entire Biden-Harris Administration are committed to helping Veterans get the high-quality, low-cost education they deserve. In 2024 alone, VA helped more than 900,000 Veterans or their families pay for school and cover expenses while training for a job.

“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 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, 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, VA will be reaching out to them directly to encourage them to file a claim.

As a part of this policy, 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 October 1, 2030.

I like the 90-day addition, but it seems intellectually dishonest to spin this policy change as if the agency came up with the idea, themselves.

No, their program analysts probably spent years analyzing how many veterans would be impacted if the agency LOST its appellate fight at the Supreme Court, and they continued to fight until the end.

That is not benevolent, or is it?

VA Benevolence

The VA was so benevolent that it reduced James Rudisill’s GI Bill entitlement benefits from 23 months to 11 months – – those same benefits Rudisill planned on using to become an Episcopal priest at Yale Divinity School to become an Army chaplain per a Military.com article.

The Afghanistan and Iraq War veteran ended up working for the FBI while his case was litigated. Resolving in a 7-2 decision, meaning it really was not that close, the majority found the veteran entitled and able to use both forms of the GI Bill he earned.

In the opinion of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson:

“Rudisill earned two separate entitlements to educational benefits, one per the Montgomery GI Bill and the other per the Post-9/11 GI Bill, by serving in the military for nearly eight years over three separate periods,” Jackson wrote. “The bottom line is this: Veterans who separately accrue benefits under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills are entitled to both benefits.”

At the time of the decision, April 2024, the VA spokesman stated:

“As always, we are committed to helping veterans get the world-class education they’ve earned so they can continue successful careers after leaving the military,” VA press secretary Terrence Hayes said in a release. “The GI Bill is the backbone of veteran education, and we at VA are proud to help hundreds of thousands of veterans each year go to school with minimal out-of-pocket costs for tuition, housing, books, supplies and more.”

So, VA is proud of the program it administers to veterans that was created by Congress and funded by taxpayers and soldiers… In other words, the agency is proud of doing its job while fighting against veterans to withhold benefits whenever it can.

Benevolence.

The reality is it took a veteran and a team of attorneys to fight a wrong-headed agency policy in court – – up to the Supreme Court.

Meaning, this was not accomplished by the Iron Triangle of nationally chartered Veteran Service Organizations, nor trusty County Veteran Service Officers, or simply an act of good will – – like a girl blowing a kiss to a soldier about to depart on a one year deployment.

No.

It took attorneys and money to litigate this all the way to the Supreme Court after VA wrongly screwed veterans out of GI Bill benefits for over a decade.

Fortunately, it appears the agency is working to rectify its procedures to ensure timely processing after it was forced to make this correction.

But don’t forget, this fight likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation to make happen for the rest of us. Supreme Court cases have a price.