This generation of veterans and servicemembers has access to the best benefits of any era in history. From the VA Home Loan program to the GI Bill, you can save money, enhance your career opportunities, and even change your life. Don’t miss out on any of the military and veteran benefits you have earned.
Update: Federal Benefits Open Season is now closed. On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the Senate approved a stopgap spending bill and sent it to the President’s desk for signature. The bill extended the current operation of the U.S. government in a two-tiered fashion, with the last of the temporary funding expiring in February 2024. The… Read more »
Multiple sources report as many as 40 thousand veterans, and surviving family members have been overpaid by the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2011. These beneficiaries are typically those who qualify for VA pensions, and now the VA is trying to decide what to do about the overpayments. Typically, when the VA overpays a benefit,… Read more »
Totally disabled veterans may qualify for federal student loan forgiveness under a Department of Education (DOE) program. In 2021, the DoE announced a plan to forgive federal student loans for those rated as totally disabled, whether veteran or civilian. There are more than 300 thousand student loan borrowers with a total and permanent disability, including… Read more »
Qualifying disabled service members may be offered VA life insurance without having to pay a premium. This applies to those retiring or separating from the military. Learn more.
A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) indicates that Guard and Reserve VA claims are less likely to be approved than their active duty counterparts. That might sound like discrimination at first glance, but the reality of the situation seems to be related in part to a lack of awareness in the Guard/Reserve of… Read more »
The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning against rising numbers associated with a type of veteran benefits scam called “payment redirection fraud.” Due to increased volume in VA claims, a higher profile for those claims thanks to headlines about the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (PACT Act), and other factors, VA.gov notes,… Read more »
In the last part of 2023, the Department of Veterans Affairs may have started a healthcare revolution for veterans living in military communities. The first headlines on this issue focused on a VA partnership with Naval Hospital Pensacola to provide outpatient surgical services to more than 35 thousand veterans living along the Gulf Coast. Those… Read more »
Update 5/27/2025 The Defense Department has acknowledged serious problems with the HomeSafe Alliance household goods contract, and multiple sources report a scaling back of the types of PCS moves assigned to HomeSafe Alliance in the meantime. DoD officials have publicly stated that the problems are “getting worse.” According to Military Times, they have “directed U.S. Transportation… Read more »
Most who join the United States military are subject to annual fitness testing to ensure troops meet basic physical standards. The Department of Defense has developed a new hearing test program featuring scheduled “fit testing” to maintain readiness; this one doesn’t require push ups or running. It’s an audio test to detect hearing loss. The… Read more »
There’s a move in Washington to enhance servicemember access to over-the-counter birth control and reproductive healthcare. And that move isn’t limited to internal review of healthcare regulations, there are lawsuits and investigations into a variety of complaints about federal policy on this type of healthcare in an attempt to bring DoD and VA guidelines into… Read more »