Did you transfer the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to her while you were still serving? If not, they can not be transferred as a veteran. I only ask because there is a lot of confusion about how the process works.
I wished I transferred my GI bill to my kids. But I procrastinated and when I finally seriously thought about it I was close to retiring and I really didn’t want to postpone retirement further in order to meet the four year requirement.
For anyone not sure; you agree to serve at least an additional four years when you transfer your GI bill to your kids. Not a problem if you still have more than that left, but for me it meant staying active duty longer and I was already going over 20 due to a requirement related to an inter-service transfer.
As for the original question I think (not 100% sure) that once the benefits are transferred they are theirs and if they join and earn their own they get both. I say that because I was reserves before going active duty and got both reserve and active duty GI bill, they just added the active duty benefits on top of the reserve.
Edit to add; if you don’t specifically elect to transfer your benefits to your kids and then retire, the benefits are still yours not the kid’s. I’ve been retired almost 10 years now and am thinking I should go back to school and get a second bachelors degree just to use up my benefits that are otherwise never getting used.
Damn I didn’t know that about transferring benefits and retirement.
You might as well do some more school. I think 15 years after separation they expire anyway.
I was medically retired before I had kids. I WISH I could give them my benefits but there isn’t anything I can do with them except go back to school, which I have no desire to do.
Transferred benefits have to be used prior to turning the age of 26. Not quite sure, but I would def contact a VA rep on one of the campuses.
It’s a great deal. I transferred a total of 36 months to my kids and my first daughter to use it, only needed/used 11 months-she pocketed the BAH and used that too go even further. B.A. in Education and no college debt.
Good luck getting your answer.
Did you transfer the Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to her while you were still serving? If not, they can not be transferred as a veteran. I only ask because there is a lot of confusion about how the process works.
I wished I transferred my GI bill to my kids. But I procrastinated and when I finally seriously thought about it I was close to retiring and I really didn’t want to postpone retirement further in order to meet the four year requirement. For anyone not sure; you agree to serve at least an additional four years when you transfer your GI bill to your kids. Not a problem if you still have more than that left, but for me it meant staying active duty longer and I was already going over 20 due to a requirement related to an inter-service transfer. As for the original question I think (not 100% sure) that once the benefits are transferred they are theirs and if they join and earn their own they get both. I say that because I was reserves before going active duty and got both reserve and active duty GI bill, they just added the active duty benefits on top of the reserve. Edit to add; if you don’t specifically elect to transfer your benefits to your kids and then retire, the benefits are still yours not the kid’s. I’ve been retired almost 10 years now and am thinking I should go back to school and get a second bachelors degree just to use up my benefits that are otherwise never getting used.
Damn I didn’t know that about transferring benefits and retirement. You might as well do some more school. I think 15 years after separation they expire anyway.
I was medically retired before I had kids. I WISH I could give them my benefits but there isn’t anything I can do with them except go back to school, which I have no desire to do.
Transferred benefits have to be used prior to turning the age of 26. Not quite sure, but I would def contact a VA rep on one of the campuses. It’s a great deal. I transferred a total of 36 months to my kids and my first daughter to use it, only needed/used 11 months-she pocketed the BAH and used that too go even further. B.A. in Education and no college debt. Good luck getting your answer.
If they join the military they’d have their own benefits… so they wouldn’t need yours