Financial Frontlines®

Are you eligible for the new Post 9-11 GI Bill?  Make sure your understand the key changes that are on the way for the 2011-12 school year.

Major changes include:

• Title 32 full-time National Guard/Reserve time counting for benefit level qualification (effective October 1, 2011)
• End of unlimited tuition reimbursement for Active Duty and Active Duty Spouses (became effective on March 5, 2011)
• Reimbursement for entrance exams (such as LSAT, GMAT, ACT and SAT) and multiple certification exams (effective August 1, 2011)
• Opening up non-degree granting programs for Post 9-11 GI Bill use (effective October 1, 2011)

For a full list of coming changes, please visit the VA Post 9-11 GI Bill Website and make sure you have the latest information.

Phil Dyer, CFP®, RLP®, CPCC

Legislation including a host of upgrades and changes to the Post 9-11 GI Bill just passed a key congressional committee.  Major proposed changes include:

• Giving credit for Title 32 (Full-Time National Guard/Reserve Service) service members back to September 11, 2001.  This will greatly assist these service members in qualifying for a more robust benefit.
• $1,000 books and supplies stipend for Active Duty service members and their spouses (they are currently inelgible).
• Addition of vocational training (on-the-job training and apprenticeships) and expanded licensing/certification benefits.
• Adjustment of the housing allowance to include full-time distance learners (at 50 percent rate) and base the housing allowance on enrollment level.
• Capping the tuition and fees paid for Active Duty service members and their spouses at $20,000 annually.  This is big potential hit, since these populations currently have no tuition cap (but give up the books and supplies stipend/housing allowance under the Post 9-11 GI Bill).

For full details, see this article in the Military Times.

We will keep you informed on the progress of this legislation.  While we think there is a good chance that much of it will pass this year, there is so much uncertainty/acrimony around any budget issues in Congress that there are no guarantees.

Phil Dyer, CFP®, RLP®. CPCC

Please join us for a Post 9-11 GI Bill Livecast on 6/29 at 12 Noon Eastern Time…

During this 45-minute live video cast, we will be sharing the latest information on the Post 9-11 GI Bill and giving you key action tips to make the most of this valuable benefit for currently serving service members, retirees and veterans.

Bookmark this link:

Post 9-11 GI Bill Livestream

You will have the opportunity to submit questions live and have those answered during the Q & A portion of the live cast.  Please note that your computer will need the most recent version of Adode Flash for optimum performance, which you can download here.

We hope to see you there!

Phil Dyer, CFP, RLP, CPCC

The VA announced a fix for the problem of paying for Post 9-11 GI Bill students at California’s private colleges.

The issue was GI Bill payments for both public and private colleges are based on in-state public college tuition rates. CA has no tuition for in-state public colleges and since there is no public college tuition rate on which to base private college payments, there was no private college payments.

See this VA press release for the details.

MOAA has just released in interactive e-book entitled “5 Simple Secrets to Maximizing Your Post 9-11 GI Bill Benefits.  Please feel free to forward this publication to anyone who might find it useful or link to it on your website or blog.

You can download your free copy here:

Post 9-11 GI Bill E-Book

In addition, MOAA will be conducting a 1-hour webinar the “ins and outs” of the Post 9-11 GI Bill on Tuesday, August 25th starting at 1200 hrs EST.  This webinar is free of charge, but you must register and space is limited.  The webinar will include approximately 50 minutes of prepared material and a 10-minute Q & A session.  All you need to participate in the webinar is a computer and a phone line.

Register for the Post 9-11 GI Bill webinar here:

Post 9-11 GI Bill Webinar on 8/25 at 1200 EST

We hope to see you on the webinar!