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Army Allows Some Soldiers to Transfer G.I. Bill Benefits to Spouses
Jul 23 2006
The Army has announed a new pilot program which would allow enlisted Soldiers who are serving in critically-manned MOSs and who agree to reenlist, to transfer up to one half of their Active Duty Mongtomery G.I. Bill (ADMGIB) benefits to their spouses.

To qualify, Soldiers must have served for at least six years, reenlist for a minimum of four years, and be qualified for a Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB). Qualified Soldiers will be able to tranfer up to 18 months of their 36 months of education benefits. If soldiers choose this option, they will receive a slightly lower SRB amount.

The ADMGIB currently pays $1,034 per month for a full-time student. Rates are pro-rated for part-time students.

Soldiers who elected the Army College Fund (ACF) as an enlistment option and/or have enrolled and paid toward the $600 MGIB Additional Opportunity (both programs add to the monthly pay-out of the ACMGIB), can include their expanded benefit (MGIB, ACF and MGIB Additional Opportunity) in the transferability program.


Congress authorized the services to implement this program in 2001 as part of the FY 2002 Military Authorization Act, however at that time, none of the services elected to implement the ADMGIB Transferability Program

This is a pilot program, conducted by the Army for enlisted soldiers only. None of the other services have yet shown any interest in implementing the program. The Army will study the results of the program with the possibility of making it a permanent part of the Army’s reenlistment policies.

“The Army continues to focus on and provide support to Soldiers’ families because it is the right thing to do, and because we know that we recruit Soldiers, but retain families,” said Maj. Gen. Sean Byrne, director of Army Military Personnel Management.

Education benefits are a key component of the incentive package used by the Army to attract and retain quality Soldiers. At the foundation of these benefits is the MGIB. The transferability of MGIB benefits is an additional lever being used to retain Soldiers with critical skills.

Soldiers interested in participating in the program should visit their Army retention career counselor for information.