GI Bill?

P

prfctasillevrbe

PEB Forum Regular Member
PEB Forum Veteran
I'm not sure where to post this.

My husband has been offered and took 40% TDRL from the army (he has a severely damaged disc in his back), either way...he has been trying to transfer his GI Bill today and has talked to so many different people and they all either tell him to talk to someone else or they give him different answers every time. Does anyone know anything about how this works? We know he has to have been in for six years, and in June he will be (and he won't be out by then he still has two months terminal leave and hasn't been given his orders yet), but he obviously can't promise another four years because he is being medically retired. Before he went through the med board process he had promise another four years and WOULD have been in ten...I'm just confused. Some people told us that he can transfer it because they can't punish him for getting med boarded, one guy from the VA said its all up to the army. His career counselor told him that his orders are cut and dry and if my husband won't promise four more years then he can't transfer the GI Bill period...it doesn't matter the reason. So who is right? Any ideas? Thanks.
 
Chinook,
I looked at that website before and I can't find an answer to my question there. It says if the person is retirement eligible he wouldn't have to agree to another four, however, it's saying retirement eligible based on 20 years of service. I don't know where else to look or who to call. My husband has got the run around between the VA and army for a few weeks now...they're all in agreement that he must transfer it before he gets off active duty, which is soon...yet no one can give him the answer as to whether or not he's eligible for the transfer. Any other idea where to look or who to call?
 
Your husband has to incur an additional obligation service of 4yrs after the six yr mark. Retirement eligible is based on 20yrs. The only other way to not have to incur the additional 4 yrs is if:
a. Eligibility.
(1) Any Soldier of the Armed Forces who fulfills Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility requirements and who, at the time of the approval of the Soldier’s request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance does not have an adverse action flag, is eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and
(2) Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years from the date of request, regardless of the number of months transferred, or
(3) Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and cannot commit to 4 additional years due to an Retention Control Point (RCP) or Mandatory Retirement Date (MRD) must commit to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by either RCP or MRD as of the date of request, regardless of the number of months transferred, or
(4) Is or will become retirement eligible during the period from 1 August 2009, through 1 August 2013 and agrees to serve the additional period, if any, specified below. For the purposes of this paragraph, a Soldier is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active Federal service or 20 qualifying years as computed under title 10 U.S.C § 12732. Use which ever computation establishes 20 years regardless of which component the Soldier is in at the time of electing to transfer benefits. (See Table 1)
This information is based on Department of Defense Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-003: Post 9/11 GI Bill, dated 22 June 2009.
 
Hey there again prt...

I didn't have to do anything going onto tdrl...I have full post 9/11 gi bill benefits...I finished my BS and have money and time for my masters.....let me see what I can figure out here.
Hang on...I have some contacts. I'll be back....:)
 
hsanchez0328 said:
Your husband has to incur an additional obligation service of 4yrs after the six yr mark. Retirement eligible is based on 20yrs. The only other way to not have to incur the additional 4 yrs is if:
a. Eligibility.
(1) Any Soldier of the Armed Forces who fulfills Post 9/11 GI Bill eligibility requirements and who, at the time of the approval of the Soldier’s request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance does not have an adverse action flag, is eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, and
(2) Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years from the date of request, regardless of the number of months transferred, or
(3) Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and cannot commit to 4 additional years due to an Retention Control Point (RCP) or Mandatory Retirement Date (MRD) must commit to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by either RCP or MRD as of the date of request, regardless of the number of months transferred, or
(4) Is or will become retirement eligible during the period from 1 August 2009, through 1 August 2013 and agrees to serve the additional period, if any, specified below. For the purposes of this paragraph, a Soldier is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active Federal service or 20 qualifying years as computed under title 10 U.S.C § 12732. Use which ever computation establishes 20 years regardless of which component the Soldier is in at the time of electing to transfer benefits. (See Table 1)
This information is based on Department of Defense Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-003: Post 9/11 GI Bill, dated 22 June 2009.
Click to expand...

I transferred my benefits to my spouse last year and agreed to serve 4 additional years. A few months after the transfer was complete I became sick and am now being medically boarded. What happens if I'm medically discharged/retired? At the time I made the transfer I intended to serve 4 more years, but now I am not be able to because of the medical issues.

Is the transfer cancelled or what happens?

Thanks
 
jtludwig said:
I transferred my benefits to my spouse last year and agreed to serve 4 additional years. A few months after the transfer was complete I became sick and am now being medically boarded. What happens if I'm medically discharged/retired? At the time I made the transfer I intended to serve 4 more years, but now I am not be able to because of the medical issues.

Is the transfer cancelled or what happens?

Thanks
Click to expand...

To further muddy the waters....what if a service member transfers benefits and agrees to serve 4 more years after injury but BEFORE being informed of an MEB? Since he/she was "fully capable for duty" at the time the deal was made, will the military stick with it or take it away if the member is medically separated/retired before serving 4 years?
 
Edited for verification - will get back with an answer soon!
 
hey prt....

Ok, I made some calls today and I think I have some answers-I hope..:) I started with the VA education benefit people, but they said your question would be covered better by the DoD. (although the guy from VA was accurate)...I called DoD at 1-800-477-8227. The guy there said what the VA guy said...the issue with transferring your benefits comes down to ......if your husband can transfer his entitlements before he hits his new disposition-medical retirement.

It appears if the benefits are transferred before he his MEDICALLY retired then it should fly...if not, probably not. There is an email address for you to confirm this....I emailed the email address today :) cause I wasn't sure if it was correct, but I haven't gotten an error...so it could be correct...EMAIL: [email protected]

Try and send them a message explaining the situation and remember to mention your husband will be retired medically. Good luck and I hope that helps.
 
The DoD is in control of transfer eligibility (since they must certify that the member has served at least 6 years and agreed to serve 4 more years - different mechanisms of confirmation exist for each service).

This website provides general links and explanations concerning the DoD side of the transferability program:
Defense.gov - Special Report - Post 9/11 GI Bill

Under "Transferability Policy" there is a link to a DoD Memorandum outlining the regulations for transferability among the services.

There are some important points for clarification within the DoD memorandum:

DTM 09-003 p.14, Attachment 2, Section 3, Item 'a' states:

a. Eligible Individuals. Any member of the Armed Forces on or after August 1st, 2009, who, at the time of the approval of the individual's request to transfer entitlement to educational assistance under this section, is eligible for the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, and

(1) [Omitted]

(2) Has at least 10 years of service in the Armed Forces (active duty and/or Selected Reserve) on the date of election, is precluded by either standard policy (Service or DoD) or statute from committing to 4 additional years, and agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute, or

(3) [Omitted]
Click to expand...
This does not apply to the original poster's husband but it does apply (in my opinion) to future forum members. Any member is who found unfit by the PEB is precluded by both service regulations, DoD regulations, and statute from committing to an additional four years - the member also implicitly agrees to serve the maximum time allowed by such regulation(s)/statute(s) as he awaits his/her medical separation or retirement. So essentially, if you are over 10 years of service and are facing a MEB/PEB you are safe for transferability of your Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits (so long as you transfer them before you are retired/separated from active duty).

This is also important - DTM 09-003 p. 18, Attachment 2, Section 3, Item 'h':

h. Additional Administrative Matters.

(1) -(4) Omitted

(5) Failure to Complete Service Agreement
(a) Excepted as provided in paragraph 3.h.(5)(b) of this attachment, if an individual transferring entitlement under this section fails to complete the service agreed to by the individual under paragraph 3.a of this attachment in accordance with the terms of the agreement of the individual under that paragraph, the amount of any transferred entitlement under section 3 that is used by a dependent of the individual as of the date of such failure shall be treated as an overpayment of educational assistance and will be subject to collection by the DVA.

(b) Paragraph 3.h.(5)(a) of this attachment shall not apply in the case of an individual who fails to complete service agreed to by the individual due to:
1. The death of the individual,
2. Discharge or release from active duty or Selected Reserve for a medical condition which pre-existed the service of the individual and was not service- connected,
3. Discharge or release from active duty or Selected Reserve for hardship as determined by the Secretary of the Military Department concerned,
4. Discharge or release from active duty or Selected Reserve for a physical or mental condition, not a disability, that did not result from the individual's own willful misconduct, but did interfere with the performance of duty.
Click to expand...
This regulation (as I originally had guessed) omits an EXTREMELY important piece of information - if the individual is released from service due to a service-connected disability, than the benefits are not subject to collection by the DVA. See the following post from the VA official Post 9/11 GI Bill Q&A section:

https://www.gibill2.va.gov/cgi-bin/...Xh0PW1lZGljYWwgZGlzY2hhcmdl&p_li=&p_topview=1

I checked the link and it should work. If not, the post states the following:

Currently, only the Army offers a Transfer of Entitlement program. If the person making the transfer fails to complete the 4 years (or more) of active duty service agreed to for transferability purposes, VA will treat any benefits paid to dependents as an overpayment and will collect the amount of the overpayment from the service member. Exceptions to this rule apply if:
(1) The person making the transfer dies before completing the service.
(2) The person making the transfer is discharged from active duty under one of the following conditions:

  • Service-connected disability;
  • Medical condition that preexisted service;
  • Hardship; or
  • Physical or mental condition not characterized as a disability which interfered with the performance of duty and was not the result of the individual’s misconduct.
NOTE: Early discharge for convenience of the government or reduction in force does not qualify as one of the exceptions. Such a discharge will cause an overpayment of all benefits paid to dependents and result in collection of the overpayment.
For more information see HERE.
Click to expand...
So to reinforce Chinook's answer - I think your husband is safe so long as he transfers the benefits before he gets out! Great question!
 
PRT....I got an email back: per [email protected]

"If the Soldier completes 6 years they can transfer their benefits to
their spouse only. The obligation end date will not be the required for
years, it will be the Soldiers retirement date or med sep date. The key
is, they have to acquire the 6 years of service prior to separation or medical retirement."

There you go :)
 
Chinook,
I am a little confused, this might be a stupid question but when they say obligation end date what does this mean? He will have six years in June 30th of this year...his medical separation date is August 18th 2010...am I assuming correctly that this means he will be able to transfer? Thank you so much for all your help, I really appreciate it :)
 
I was told today, If you have a least 30 days of active duty time and then get medically discharged you recieve 100 percent of the benefit. This would also include being able to transfer the benefit.
I asked these question specifically to the rep. You can file to transfer you benefits after you find out you have been med discharged and have outprocessed.
I just find it amazing the different answers you will get depending on who you talk to.
 
My husband is in the PEB process. He has 16 years AD in the USAF. He spoke to several people and was told that he would be able to convert his GI Bill to the post-9/11 GI Bill and transfer it. So he filed the paperwork and got an email from AFPC about 2 weeks later telling him that he couldn't do it.
 
golpher1204 said:
I was told today, If you have a least 30 days of active duty time and then get medically discharged you recieve 100 percent of the benefit. This would also include being able to transfer the benefit.
I asked these question specifically to the rep. You can file to transfer you benefits after you find out you have been med discharged and have outprocessed.
I just find it amazing the different answers you will get depending on who you talk to.
Click to expand...

The bolded portion is true. The underlined portion is not necessarily true - you need at least 6 years of service to qualify for transferability.
 
Hi prt,

You are very welcome...its unfortunate that there are so many hoops to go through to get the correct answer and it gets overwhelming. Glad I can help you on this.....

It looks like you guys will make it! :) yea. But make sure you make those changes (transfer of benefits) before he gets to that date. When I emailed the above address [email protected] , they responded the next day. I would recommend emailing them and confirming what I had asked on your behalf. Also include how to make the changes, etc.

Keep me posted, I'd like to hear how this goes for you. Let me know if you need any more help, I'd be glad to follow up. :)
 
Chinook,
I emailed them and got the same answer you did, though they didn't elaborate on how he goes about it, so I had to email them again, but at least I feel like I'm getting somewhere now. After this whole process (MEB/PEB, VA, Gi Bill) it finally feels like things are starting to go right. Now i just hope they keep going this way... :) Thank you again for all your help.
 
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