VA helps Veterans maximize their G.I. Bill education benefits

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is making it easier for eligible Veterans to maximize use of their G.I. Bill education benefits in the wake of two recent court rulings.

The rulings (Rudisill v. McDonough and Perkins v. Collins) potentially enable millions of Veterans to receive additional education benefits under both the Montgomery G.I. Bill and the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Veterans may be eligible under either court decision for an additional 12 months of benefits, up to a total of 48 months. 

VA is taking three steps to help Veterans in the wake of these rulings. 

• First, VA is no longer requiring Veterans to formally request a VA assessment of their eligibility under Rudisill. VA will automatically assess their eligibility under this decision.

• Second, VA is reviewing eligibility under both Rudisill and Perkins for any Veteran who has less than three months of benefits left and who is either enrolled in school or was enrolled in the last six months. Focusing on these high-priority cases will ensure that no current or recent students will be left without benefits if they qualify for additional benefits under either decision.

• Third, VA is updating its automated adjudication systems to apply the Perkins decision. Once this is complete, VA will review all Veterans’ files for additional entitlement under Perkins. To reduce delays, VA has been automatically approving the initial 36 months of benefits for eligible Veterans and will notify them of any additional entitlement under Perkins or if additional action is needed.

“These court decisions will influence the educational choices of millions of people, and VA is working to ensure Veterans know what they qualify for and how to claim their benefits,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.

Background info:

In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in Rudisill v. McDonough that Veterans with multiple qualifying periods of military service could obtain a combined 48 months of both MGIB and PGIB benefits. In January 2025, VA announced that more than 1 million Veterans potentially qualified for additional benefits under Rudisill.

In 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims issued a precedential opinion in Perkins v. Collins. The Perkins ruling said Veterans with a single qualifying period of military service could obtain benefits under both PGIB and MGIB if the time-in-service requirements under both programs are met. VA estimates that the Perkins decision may enable an additional 1 million Veterans to receive up to an additional 12 months of benefits.