http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asphttp://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asphttp://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp
From what I remember the Montgomery GI Bill you had to buy into, $1200.
The new Post 9/11 GI Bill you do not buy into, and if you transfer your Montgomery GI to the 9/11 they refund the initial fee. The 9/11 Bill has certain requirements you have to meet in-order to qualify and transfer, so I'll have to refer to the links below for more info.
Montgomery GI Bill:
http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/mgib_ad.asp
Post 9/11 GI Bill:
http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp
If you are medically retired from the military, AND you are under the Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33), it is my understanding that you will receive the 100% tuition eligibility for the Post 9/11 GI Bill for UP TO 36 months of usage, and the P-9/11 GIB is good for up to 15 years after discharge.
What you need to do depends on what GI Bill you fell under when you first came in and signed up for one.
If you are under the Montgomery GI Bill, you can transfer right now and get yourself into the Post 9/11 GI Bill - IF THAT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE. (In most cases it is, but you need to do your due diligence to see if this is the better way for you and your situation).
Some medically discharged/retired SMs who have a spouse or child/ren will transfer some of their Post 9/11 GI Bill months of entitlement to their spouse/child/ren. Sometimes the retiree is not able to use this benefit and will not ever be able to use. Transferring some of that benefit is a very advantageous thing to do as it takes much of the future financial education burden off the disabled retiree.
Some disabled military retired will transfer all except for 1-2 months worth of their Post 9/11 GI Bill, and keep 30-60 days worth in their name for future use - especially if they know they will want to utilize the VA Voc Rehab program within 10 years or so of discharge.
Apparently, as long as you have not completely exhausted/transferred all your Post 9/11 GI Bill and you are picked up under VA Voc Rehab, you can still qualify for the housing allowance under the P-9/11 GIB when your are approved for re-training in many of the VocRehab programs.
As I understand it, if you need to transfer over from the "old" GI Bill to the Post 9/11 GI Bill, this needs to be done before you discharge.
I also understand if you want to transfer some of your P-9/11 GIB to your spouse & family, then that also needs to be done prior to discharge. Apparently, you can take back (recover) the entitlements you transferred away before discharge, and can do so at a later date (post discharge). But you can't initially transfer it away at a later date (after discharge).
But like I wrote above, some people who do transfer this benefit, transfer all but 30-60 days of it - just in case they are able to get into VA VocRehab. That way they have eligibility for their Post 9/11 GI Bill housing allowance under VocRehab.
The last time I did some reading on this, the Veteran had to have at the minimum 30 days eligibility left on their P-9/11 GIB in order to qualify for the 9/11 housing allowance while going through a qualified VocRehab pogram. This is why some people keep 1-2 months of their GIB in their own name and don't transfer all of it away.
I hope someone chimes in here who has already done this - transferred some and kept some and got into VocRehab.
Let us know how this works for you!
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Also, there's a GREAT and highly informative e-book written by an attorney named Benjamin Krause. It's ALL about how to utilize the VA Voc Rehab. Krause is a disabled Vet who utilized the VA VocRehab to get himself all the way through to his law degree.
Krause now has a disabled Veteran non-profit org, and represents VA disabled Vets, too.
Check out this website if you are interested in "tooling up" on the VA's VocRehab or to see the ways it can work for you.
http://www.disabledveterans.org/
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