Receiving Your VA Benefits

The VA provides information about benefit rates.

(Your BAH rates change based on what benefit you use. For BAH rates, insert rank as E-5 and zip code as 14214. Your current BAH rate will be the dependent rate.)

For new applicants, it can take up to 12 weeks before the first payment is made. However, once approved for benefits, you will receive retroactive pay.

Beginning with terms starting on or after December 17, 2021, if you are using your Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefit at an Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) facility, you are required to verify your enrollment at the end of each month to receive your Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA). We want to help you meet this new requirement so you can continue your education without any interruption in benefits.

The VA encourages students to opt into text messaging, which is a simple, quick option for verifying monthly enrollment and ensuring you receive your MHA payments uninterrupted. If you opt out of text message verification or do not respond to the opt-in text, you will be automatically enrolled in email verification with the email address on file with VA.

For more information, refer to the VA enrollment verification webpage.

If you are collecting VA benefits, you can have your monthly check sent directly to your checking account by enrolling in direct deposit. You can also enroll in direct deposit by calling 1-877-838-2778 or TDD 1-800-829-4833.