Education

Obtaining a quality education is often one of the motivating factors in a person’s choice to join the military. Most people have heard that serving in the military can earn you benefits for college tuition. However, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also offers benefits beyond monetary assistance, including educational and career counseling through the Personalized Career Planning and Guidance (PCPG), or VA Chapter 36 program.

This program is available for veterans beginning six months prior to honorable discharge and up to one year following honorable discharge from active duty. It offers veterans services including assistance with exploring career choices based on skills and interests, resume support and goal planning and coaching to ensure the veteran is taking advantage of all available resources. Having a quality education can be a key step on the path toward getting a job post-service, starting a career and working toward life and financial goals such as homeownership, raising a family, traveling or saving toward a comfortable retirement.

For those still serving on active duty or in the Selected Reserve who joined the military after Sept. 11, 2001, unused educational benefits may be transferable to a spouse or dependent. The ability to transfer these benefits depends on several factors, primarily based on length of active-duty service and remaining service. More information on transferring benefits can be found here..

Also, GI Bill benefits can expire if service ended before Jan. 1, 2013. For those veterans, benefits expire 15 years after their last separation from active duty. If service ended after Jan. 1, 2013, the benefits won’t expire due to the Forever GI Bill that went into law in August of 2017.

VA Home Loans

Buying a home is a huge part of life’s journey and should be planned for accordingly. The VA has a program to help make purchasing a home a reality for veterans who qualify. Many veterans are eligible to purchase or refinance their home through the VA Home Loans program.

Basic eligibility guidelines include:

• Veterans who served a minimum amount of active-duty time, based on when they served and whether it was during war or peacetime; the active-duty requirement varies anywhere from 90 days to 24 months (may be less if discharged for a service-connected disability)
• Reservists or National Guard members who were discharged honorably, placed on the retired list or transferred to the Ready Reserve
• The un-remarried spouse of a veteran who died in service or from a service-connected disability, is a prisoner of war, or is missing in action

In simple terms, the VA gives a “home loan guaranty” to lenders. Because the VA does this, the lender provides the homebuyer with more favorable loan terms than a traditional mortgage lender would offer. Some of these terms include no down payment, no private mortgage insurance requirement (PMI), a limit on closing costs and no early pay-off penalty. Veterans can use the benefit more than once in their lifetime, and it is not necessary to be a first-time homebuyer to take advantage of a VA loan. The program can also be used to refinance a current mortgage loan. The program also allows for a cash-out refinance, which facilitates the use of home equity to pay for home improvements, school, other debts, etc. There is an eligibility process, which can take some time. Veterans who want to take advantage of the program should allow plenty of lead time to obtain the eligibility decision from the VA. The Certificate of Eligibility (COE) application is available online.

Life Insurance

Life insurance is a key consideration when building a financial plan. Several programs offered through the VA may provide affordable coverage for veterans and their family members. Often the rates are discounted from what another insurance company would charge for similar coverage. Coverage ranges from traditional life insurance to traumatic injury protection and service-disabled life insurance. These life insurance options are valuable assets, especially for veterans who may have sustained injuries during service and may have difficulty getting approval for coverage outside of these programs. Upon separation from service, veterans can convert their in-service life insurance coverage to a civilian program with lifetime renewable term coverage. The types of coverage offered are:

• SGLI (Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance)
• TSGLI (Traumatic Injury Protection)
• FSGLI (Family Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance)
• VGLI (Veterans’ Group Life Insurance)

To learn more about these offerings, visit here.

When a veteran obtains a life insurance policy through one of the previously mentioned programs, they qualify for beneficiary financial counseling service and online will preparation.  Veterans have access to financial counseling services as well as an online program where they answer a few easy questions and are provided with a legal will, valid in all states, that is ready to print and sign.

Long-term Care

Long-term care is not something we like to think about, but we must consider it when planning for the future. It can be very expensive but is often necessary to provide care for aging relatives. Through both the Aid and Attendance and Housebound programs, many veterans who are eligible for a VA pension and require the aid and attendance of another person for care may be eligible to receive monetary assistance. This assistance would cover the cost of care in a nursing home, an assisted living facility or another long-term care program. This benefit could help reduce some of the burden of long-term care costs. For information on nursing homes, assisted living and home healthcare serives for veterans visit here.

Caregiver Support

For those who provide care for an aging veteran at home, the VA offers support via the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. Although this program does not offer any monetary support to caregivers, it does provide a caregiver support line where they can reach a licensed professional who can answer questions and offer aid. The program also provides the caregiver access to a caregiver support coordinator to help them to navigate the complexities of caring for a veteran and to take advantage of all the benefits that are available

Memorial and Burial Benefits

Many veterans are eligible to be buried in a national cemetery and have military honors at their ceremony at no cost. There are over 170 national cemeteries, and if space allows, a veteran can choose to be buried in any one of them.

If a veteran qualifies for VA burial benefits, they receive a gravesite, opening and closing of the grave, ongoing care, a government-issued headstone, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Burial benefits are also available at no cost for spouses and dependents who wish to be buried in the national cemetery with the veteran; those family members are eligible even if they predecease the veteran. Obtaining eligibility, confirming available space at the preferred cemetery, and getting the burial flag and Presidential Memorial Certificate all take time, so it is good to take care of these arrangements ahead of time if possible. To learn more about pre-need eligibility, visit here.

From a financial planning standpoint, many programs can help veterans and their families plan for the future. But veteran benefits can be complex and can vary widely depending on the veteran’s status and eligibility. Take some time to sort through the information on the VA website or call the Veterans Benefits Administration at 800-827-1000 to ask questions directly.

Veterans have earned these benefits and are wise to take full advantage of what is available to them. Thank you to all those who have served our country.