U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials recently told Congress that the agency is on track to launch Forever GI Bill housing allowance updates for the 2020 spring semester, reported Military.com. The monthly housing allowance change was originally scheduled to roll out on August 1, 2018, but a series of information technology-related issues led to a backlog in claims processing throughout the fall semester that resulted in housing payment delays and improper payments.
VA officials testified to Congress on Tuesday that they have fixed the computer processing issues and will begin implementing the provision on December 1, 2019.
Moving forward, a student's monthly housing allowance will be calculated based on the location of the campus where they physically attend the majority of classes, as opposed to a main campus location.
Agency officials said that approximately 21,000 students will see their monthly housing payments go down, while 59,000 will see them increase, Military.com reported. Despite the decrease for some, the VA promised that veterans and dependants will not be penalized for the change retroactively. Students who were underpaid will receive retroactive payments in the months following December 1, while those who were overpaid will receive additional information on how the VA will waive debts.
The VA added that it will also offer financial and other assistance to those who were adversely affected by the law change.
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Military.com
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/11/19/gi-bill-housing-allowances-may-change-soon.html