Noteboom The Law Firm

VA Still Not Paying Proper Stipends Under The Post-9/11 GI Bill

July 26, 2010 - The first year of the Post-9/11 GI Bill was marred with problems centering on disbursement of funds. Both veteran-students and colleges were denied money they were promised under the bill. The result was veterans not receiving their living stipends, many veterans not being able to afford to continue attending school the fall semester, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issuing emergency checks to thousands of veterans.

Despite promises to the contrary, the VA has not fixed these problems. Veterans using the Post-9/11 GI Bill are still not receiving proper living stipends, and many are being denied up to hundreds of dollars a month. In an effort to bring those short changed student-veterans up to date, the VA will likely issue a one-time retroactive payment. When this will happen and how it will be disbursed is not known.

The incorrect payments are rooted in the VA's attempts to correct the issues veterans faced in the fall of 2009. Current living stipends are based on 2009's military housing allowance rates. These stipends, however, should be reflecting the military housing rates that took effect 1Jan10. The VA made timely payments to universities after the fall of 2009 and in order to do that, they did not re-calculate the living stipend rates. Military housing rates rose anywhere from 2.5% to 13.5% in 2010; a significant financial change.

In April the VA planned on making retroactive payments by July. For various reasons, this did not happen and student-veterans went through yet another semester without the money they have earned from the VA.

August 1st is the one-year anniversary of the start of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and the one-year anniversary of the VA's problems making their payments. Veteran-students should not have to fight for the money they have earned in order to go to school. It is about time the VA irons out these problems and treats veterans as they deserve to be treated.