Some Vets Still Aren’t Getting Their GI Bill Benefits; Here’s What’s Happening

If you or someone in your family served in the military, you may have heard of the GI Bill, a program that helps veterans and their families pay for things like college, job training, or certification programs.

But even though the GI Bill has been around for decades, how it works (and who qualifies) hasn’t always been simple.

Now, two court cases — one from 2024 and another unfolding right now in 2025 — are shining a spotlight on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for how it’s handling these education benefits. Some veterans say they’re still not getting everything they earned, even after the Supreme Court stepped in.

Here’s what’s going on, what it means for families like yours, and how to find out if your benefits were affected.

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What’s happening with vets and the GI Bill?

The GI Bill is a federal program that helps veterans (and sometimes their families) pay for education or job training after military service. 

 It can help pay for:

• Tuition and fees at colleges or trade schools

• A monthly housing allowance while you’re in school

• Books, supplies, and certification tests

• Some apprenticeship and non-traditional training programs

There are two main versions: the Montgomery GI Bill (for those who served mostly before 2010) and the Post-9/11 GI Bill (for those who served after). Some veterans qualify for both and, if they do, they may be entitled to up to 48 months of combined benefits.

But that’s not always what ends up happening. In 2023 alone, over 560,000 people used the Post-9/11 GI Bill, including more than 119,000 spouses and children. Now, some of those families are finding out they were granted fewer months of coverage than they earned, even after a 2024 Supreme Court ruling clarified the law. 

What did the Supreme Court say in 2024?

In April 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case called Rudisill v. McDonough that veterans who qualify for both GI Bills, based on how long they served, should be able to use benefits from each program.

That means if you served long enough to earn both, you should be able to get up to 48 total months of education support, not just 36.

The Court made it clear: your right to benefits depends on the length of your military service, not whether it was split into separate stints.

So why are people still being denied GI Bill benefits?

That brings us to the new case in 2025: Yoon v. Collins.

Paul Yoon, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, served for nearly 24 years straight. After he left the military, he tried to transfer his remaining unused GI Bill benefits to his daughter, who’s now a law student.

But the VA said he didn’t qualify for the full 48 months. Why? Because he didn’t have two “separate periods” of service; they claimed he served one long stretch, so they only counted him for one program. As a result, his daughter got less than 2 months of benefits, far short of the 14 months he had remaining.

The VA is arguing that the Rudisill ruling doesn’t apply to cases like his. But that’s exactly what the new lawsuit is trying to challenge.

What’s being done to safeguard those benefits?

In a significant show of unity, every state (plus D.C. and the Northern Mariana Islands) has filed a brief in support of veterans like Lt. Col. Yoon.

They argue that:

• The VA is misreading what the Supreme Court said in Rudisill

• Veterans benefits shouldn't be docked because someone served continuously

• Families across the country are being denied education help they were promised

The states also point out that they partner with the federal government to approve the schools and programs where GI Bill funds are used, so when benefits are denied, their own systems are affected, too.

What can you do if this sounds familiar?

If you think your GI Bill benefits or your transfer request were incorrectly denied or cut short, here’s what to do:

• Check your benefit status at VA.gov

• Look at how many months of benefits you’ve used and what remains

• Read your decision letter to understand the VA’s reasoning

• File an appeal or ask for a review if you think your service qualifies you for more

• Mention the Rudisill decision in your appeal, especially if your service time qualifies you for both programs

• Sign up for BenefitKarma to stay updated on the Yoon v. Collins case and how it could affect VA policy