Questions on the GI Bill (Tuition Aid)

[nsplayr]

Here's my question and the response from the VA using their website's "Ask a Question" function:

Question
My wife plans on utilizing my transferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to start attending grad school. I'm currently a part-time Air National Guard member (with full eligibility from my time on active duty). I work anywhere between 5-10 days of Title 10 per month and some additional Title 32 days as well.

I'm wondering how those days of Title 10 will affect the MHA payment we would expect to receive. Is it prorated? Does even one day of Title 10 in a month make you ineligible for MHA payments? If I went on Title 10 orders long-term I'm assuming that we'd be ineligible for MHA just like if I were on active duty, but the intermittent orders is really what's driving my question.

I've tried to search for answers but can't find any articles or FAQs that cover this specifically. Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer

Hello,

Your housing would only be affected if you were on continuous active duty (you would not receive housing at all).  All other intermittent days will be added to your service time and should not affect housing payments (unless you generate enough days to warrant a percentage increase) if you have not already reached 100%.

 

Thank you for contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs.

St. Louis RPO/TL

[nsplayr]

I'll be pressing-to-test this for accuracy starting in June, so "may the odds ever be in my favor."

It does beg the question of where the line is drawn, i.e. could I do 30 days of Title 10 and then 1 day of no orders and still be eligible for MHA? My spidey sense tells me this will not work out as smoothly as the STL RPO thinks it will...

Edited May 2, 2017 by nsplayr

[Pittsburgh]

Are there any people out here in the medical field? I'm looking to get my dmd, I'm currently a dental assistant. Any dentist or doctor students out there?? How are you balancing school and the air force reserves? Is the afr accommodating to students who want to be in the medical field(s)?? What base (s) do they try and send you to? I'm trying to attend Howard in D.C. 

Thanks. 

[Prefontaine]

Sorry to redirect the conversation for my own PFA, but anyway...

I've already transferred my benefits,  but now looking to "take some back" so I can use it to help pay for (or cover completely) getting my ATP. How difficult is it to get some of it back in my name? Also, what percentage / number of months / whatever metric is used do I need to reclaim to cover the ~6-9,000+ it'll cost for this thing? Thanks. 

[MooseAg03]

In the milconnect website it has the option of how many months you have assigned to dependents. You should be able to take some months back there. Best guess is it will probably take 6-9 months of eligibility to pay for your ATP. From all of the talk last year before the CTP requirement came out, it seemed the proportion of benefits taken for flight training was very high to the pay back.

For comparison, my kid is using it this coming year at a second tier state school. It is paying $9k in tuition & fees, and an additional $16k for living expenses for 9 months of eligibility.


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[ThreeHoler]

3 hours ago, Prefontaine said:

Sorry to redirect the conversation for my own PFA, but anyway...

I've already transferred my benefits,  but now looking to "take some back" so I can use it to help pay for (or cover completely) getting my ATP. How difficult is it to get some of it back in my name? Also, what percentage / number of months / whatever metric is used do I need to reclaim to cover the ~6-9,000+ it'll cost for this thing? Thanks. 

The metric is $1,000/month of benefits up to $10,000/year. So, if you spend $6K, you'll burn 6 months of eligibility. If you spend $9K, you'll burn 9 months of eligibility. Source: I spent $6K on my ATP because I was lazy and didn't schedule early enough to get in on the $2-3K prices some places had before the end of my old-school ATP written. 

 

Given the state of things...you could just get hired by a regional to pay for the ATP. Or like a friend of mine, get hired by a major with only the ATP written done.

[yatalpan]

On 5/17/2017 at 5:38 PM, Pittsburgh said:

Are there any people out here in the medical field? I'm looking to get my dmd, I'm currently a dental assistant. Any dentist or doctor students out there?? How are you balancing school and the air force reserves? Is the afr accommodating to students who want to be in the medical field(s)?? What base (s) do they try and send you to? I'm trying to attend Howard in D.C. 

Thanks. 

I joined the ANG during the internship of my Family Medicine residency.  The Guard was very flexible but my program was too and allowed me to participate in UTA weekends.  I was able to get good years in each of the three years I was in residency training.  I don't know how flexible the AF Reserves will/can be.

I was even able to convince my residency program to credit me an "medical officer indoctrination" elective for OTS/COT.

[HU&W]

DoD is capping gi bill transfers at 16 years.  If you're going to do it, do it now.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1573240/dod-announces-policy-change-on-transfer-of-post-911-gi-bill-benefits/

[isuguy1234]

Grd and Reserves too it looks like huh?  So if a guy wants to go from AD to grd/reserves and transfer day 1, no longer can he do that if he’s a bit older?  Wtf?  That could then turn into total force anti retention. 

Edited July 13, 2018 by isuguy1234

[ThreeHoler]

Grd and Reserves too it looks like huh?  So if a guy wants to go from AD to grd/reserves and transfer day 1, no longer can he do that if he’s a bit older?  Wtf?  That could then turn into total force anti retention. 

You can transfer on AD and serve the commitment in the Reserves. Just can’t have a break in service.

[HeloDude]

13 hours ago, HU&W said:

DoD is capping gi bill transfers at 16 years.  If you're going to do it, do it now.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1573240/dod-announces-policy-change-on-transfer-of-post-911-gi-bill-benefits/

Looks like this won't be enacted until next year.  But here's the question:. If someone at the 15 year point last year already transferred a portion of their GI Bill and started to incur their 4 year ADSC...if they have another child in 2 years from now can they transfer benefits to that new dependent since they already "hacked the clock" before this new rule went into affect?

[Guest]

Looks like this won't be enacted until next year.  But here's the question:. If someone at the 15 year point last year already transferred a portion of their GI Bill and started to incur their 4 year ADSC...if they have another child in 2 years from now can they transfer benefits to that new dependent since they already "hacked the clock" before this new rule went into affect?

Yes. Once you’ve transferred it once, you can redistribute it as you see fit.

[HeloDude]

41 minutes ago, ihtfp06 said:

Yes. Once you’ve transferred it once, you can redistribute it as you see fit.

Sure hope so.  Either way, for all those guys sitting close to 16 years (who plan on retiring) and who haven't yet transferred the benefits--better get on it!

[HossHarris]

Is it still a different Adsc to transfer to spouse vice kids?

or put another way, if you transfer some to a spouse at the 15 year point, and have a kid at the 17 year point, can you transfer to a kid?

does any transfer open the doors to redistribute?  Or are there different levels of transfer?

[Runr6730]

5 hours ago, HossHarris said:

Is it still a different Adsc to transfer to spouse vice kids?

or put another way, if you transfer some to a spouse at the 15 year point, and have a kid at the 17 year point, can you transfer to a kid?

does any transfer open the doors to redistribute?  Or are there different levels of transfer?

Same ADSC.  Once you opt to transfer it you can redistribute it as you see fit. If you have kids down the line and they are added to MilPDS, you can redistribute months to them with no additional ADSC.

[Jaded]

Anybody know if dependents can be added if you're in the IRR? Benefit is already transfered. 

[isuguy1234]

On 7/13/2018 at 5:27 AM, ThreeHoler said:

 

You can transfer on AD and serve the commitment in the Reserves. Just can’t have a break in service.

 

Happen to know where this is stated?  I've asked a couple people locally and the response is usually "you're stuck on active duty until you serve the commitment."  I've also heard, "if you choose to get out at the end of your UPT commitment, you lose any unused benefits."  Confirm if I transfer now, with less than 2 years left on AD, I can still exercise an option to get out of AD at the end of my UPT commitment?  Then I just don't get all the benefits??  Orrrrrrrrrrrrrr, by no break in service you mean, i get out of AD on Monday and officially start ANG/AFRC on Tuesday?

Obviously what i don't want is to sign the transfer and get hung up on AD for 4 more years, but obviously don't want to completely lose all the benefits either.  Official options??

[ThreeHoler]

https://www.afpc.af.mil/Portals/70/documents/Life%20and%20Career/Post%209-11/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions%202017.pdf?ver=2017-09-28-101544-220

[isuguy1234]

Ah ha!  I knew, but hadn't seen til today that there would be some uber restriction.  The transfer only occurs if you Palace Chase/Front(the ole AFI 36-2649, Air Force Voluntary Education Program, Attachment 13, para A13.18.8.6).  Good luck with that during this time in the AF?  I would have problems with this by 4.5 months due to my current ADSC.

Anybody know of grandfather'd in kind of things or seeking a waiver of sorts?!  Lots of time in, it seems crazy the AF could just give me the middle finger like this.  Trying not to be angry.

[FourFans]

13 minutes ago, isuguy1234 said:

...it seems crazy the AF could just give me the middle finger like this...

The AF calls it a "retention initiative"

[isuguy1234]

Yeah in the grand scheme of total force retention tho, they would lose 2 yrs out of me. Got it, not about me, but how many others?  I know 2 at my base alone. 

When u make plans based off a current and known value, it sucks when the known commodity changes. I also understand that the bandit has a vote, just didn’t think the bandit was big blue. I have much to learn still. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by isuguy1234

[FourFans]

5 hours ago, isuguy1234 said:

just didn’t think the bandit was big blue

make no mistake: Big Blue is indeed the bandit.

[isuguy1234]

Has anybody had any luck taking years/months of GI Bill ADSC from active duty to the guard/reserves?  I asked about it a few messages back, but looking for the specific way to go about it.  AFI 36-2649 says you can take the ADSC from active duty to the guard/reserves via Palace Chase/Front, but how is that done?  

For instance, duder has a date of separation already 6 months from now, Palace Front paperwork good to go, 1288 done, then transfers the 9/11 GI Bill benefits over tomorrow with 6 months left on active duty.  Does this need to be annotated somewhere, or other paperwork signed, or what?  I know it says so in the reg, but just seems like an easy way to get stuck.

[nsplayr]

Not directly answering your question, but I just waited until I joined the guard. I knew I wanted to transfer about a year or more earlier, but it was easier and cleaner just to wait. Did the transfer the day I in-processed with the Guard and it was easy peasy. The only reason to get a jump on it would be if you can knock off a significant chunk of the 4-year commitment (more than half?) and you know you don't want to stay in the Guard very long; I wouldn't mess with it over like 6 months if it were me.

[brabus]

You don't need to, and can't, do anything specifically about it pre-swearing into the ANG.  You will PC your remaining GI bill commitment to the ANG at a 2:1 ratio, i.e. if you have 6 months remaining ADSC when you swear into the ANG, you owe 1 year of service to the ANG (a "good year," doesn't have to be full time).  You will see your GI bill ADSC show up on your PC paperwork alongside UPT and any other ADSCs you may have.  When you swear in, you fill out one form with your ANG recruiter who handles all the transfer paperwork and that's it.  

Of note, I think you need to make any desired changes to your GI Bill (i.e. add a new kid) before you leave AD, but I'm not 100% sure on that.  Probably worth doing anyways to avoid any possible, future hassle.