How to Transfer the GI Bill Benefits of Dependents
- 1). Enroll in the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill program. There are actually now two G.I. Bill programs: the Montgomery G.I. Bill created after WWII and the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill created in 2008. The Post 9/11 Bill is the only one that allows a transfer of benefits. You will be given this option when you are first processed into the military (See Tips). You will not be penalized if you do not receive your benefits. There is almost no reason not to accept either one of these bills.
- 2). Add your dependents to the Defense Enrollment and Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS). You can do this either during your initial processing, or later, at your first duty station or when you add dependents, i.e. marry or have children. To add dependents to DEERS you will have to bring them into the Uniformed Services Personnel office on base. Your dependents will need a completed DD 1172 form, a birth certificate, social security number and, if relevant, your marriage certificate. Dependents must first be enrolled in DEERS before any Post 9/11 G.I. Bill benefits can be transfered. Again, if you reject the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill during initial processing, then your dependents can be enrolled in DEERS to receive other benefits, but you will have no educational benefits to transfer.
- 3). Fulfill ten years of military service. Before you can transfer any benefits to a spouse or child, you will have to serve ten years in the active service, or at least have served six and enlisted for four more. If you are transferring your benefits to a child, the child will not be able to use those benefits before turning 18 or attending an undergraduate college, even if you have already served the full ten years.
- 4). Go to the Department of Defense Transfer of Education Benefits website. Log into the Defense Manpower Data Center using your Common Access Card (military ID). From this portal you will be able to transfer benefits to your dependents listed in the DEERS database. You may choose to transfer tuition assistance funds, book stipend funds, housing allowances or any combination of these benefits.
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