Transferring Post 9/11 GI Bill Benefits to a Dependent
Military members that are utilizing the Post 9/11 GI Bill may be entitled to transferring their benefits to their dependents. Transferring benefits to dependents is consider a method of military retention and is only available to active duty, Selected Reserve, officer or enlisted on or after August 1, 2009. In order to qualify, the service member must fulfill the following obligations:
Has at least 6 years of service in the Armed Forces on the date of election and agrees to serve 4 additional years in the Armed Forces from the date of election.
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.
Is or becomes retirement eligible during the period from August 1, 2009, through August 1, 2013. A service member is considered to be retirement eligible if he or she has completed 20 years of active duty or 20 qualifying years of reserve service.
1. For those individuals eligible for retirement on August 1, 2009, no additional service is required.
2. For those individuals who have an approved retirement date after August 1, 2009, and before July 1, 2010, no additional service is required.
3. For those individuals eligible for retirement after August 1, 2009, and before August 1, 2010, 1 year of additional service after approval of transfer is required.
4. For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2010, and before August 1, 2011, 2 years of additional service after approval of transfer are required.
5. For those individuals eligible for retirement on or after August 1, 2011, and before August 1, 2012, 3 years of additional service after approval of transfer required.
Benefits transferred to a spouse are good for up to fifteen years. Benefits transferred to a child are good until that child reaches the age of 26 (medical school or PhD takes eight years, determining this number.)
The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs have pages addressing the specific questions of family transferability. For those interested in applying, directions and the application are available here.
Read more about family transferability and the Post 9/11 GI Bill: