One of the many things I have learned as a military spouse is to always do my research and be not only an advocate for myself, but for my children as well.
Whether it be a PCS, our medical care, future possible duty stations or pretty much any life altering circumstance for my family, I am constantly reading, asking questions and taking notes. I am very fortunate that my husband values my opinion and takes into consideration what is right for not only his career but our family as well.
When my husband started discussing the possibility of leaving the military for a civilian career, before retiring at 20 years, we knew it would take some time to plan and coordinate all the logistics to make it work.
It would take time to make sure we could make the transition financially.
While the thought of facing no deployments, ever again, is certainly tempting, the secure income and health insurance are a big perk to help us choose staying on this military roller coaster. And, it’s not easy to just walk away from the only life we have known together; especially one that allows me to be home with our young children.
The unknown is terrifying.
We have decided that whether we leave this life behind in two years or 10, we need to start covering all of our bases. Even if my husband decides to finish out his original 20-year plan, I am so happy we discussed our options because we have learned so much in our research.
I urge all of you to take a closer look at the Post 9-11 Bill. My husband and I had both assumed once he hit six years of military service, he would be able to transfer his unused educational benefits to our children at any time. Since he has passed that six years of service time we thought nothing more of it and figured we would worry about it later.
With a 4- and 2-year-old, college is an eternity away! Sure the days of breaking up Power Ranger fights and stepping on Legos sure go by in a flash but not that fast. We thought we had time on our side.
I happened to read a financial management magazine I received on base and this topic caught my eye so I decided to read into it a little more. The most important fact that stuck out was that once benefits are transferred to a spouse or other dependent, the service member must complete four more years of service from the date of transfer.
Four more years.
Even though our boys were not old enough to attend college anytime soon, my husband could still transfer his benefit now so he could fulfill that 4-year extended commitment (even though our boys were not 18).
If my husband decided not to use the benefit, it is at least nice to have the option to use it for one of them rather than walking away from his military career and not getting the educational benefit at all.
And if he wanted to get out of the military on his terms earlier than planned, the sooner the transfer the better for our family. He currently has served eight years and right now, it seems like the further over the 10 year in service mark the more tempting it is to hold out and retire at 20 (or more!!) years.
He can change the allocation of benefits at any time so he decided to also add me to some of the transfer benefits incase our families needs change. There may come a time when my husband may not be the primary provider in our family and in order to financially provide for us, I may have to further my education to advance in a career so knowing I have that option down the line is nice.
We also like to think, like most proud parents, that we have the smartest and most athletic kids ever so they will be gifted in academic and athletic scholarships and we won’t have to use that GI Bill for them. Haha!
Whether it be the service member using the education benefits or you decide to transfer them to the dependent, do your research and cover your bases for any situation. Service members and their families sacrifice so much and are entitled to the benefits promised to them when they enlist. Do your research, take the transition classes whether you are a year away from making that jump to civilian life or five years. You have to protect yourself and your family for any given situation.
For more facts on transferring GI benefits, you can visit http://www.defense.gov/home/features/2009/0409%5Fgibill/
