Student veterans who have their GI Bill benefits directly deposited into a different bank account than their other veterans' benefits will have to choose one account to receive all payments by April 20.
The change is being made as part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' overall efforts to update the GI Bill payment system and is intended to curb fraud, a top VA official told reporters Wednesday.
About 50,000 of the more than 800,000 veterans who use GI Bill benefits are expected to be affected by the change, Jacobs said, stressing that only GI Bill beneficiaries with multiple bank accounts on file with the VA will need to update their direct deposit information.
The department will be reaching out directly to those affected with text messages, phone calls and emails, with plans to send weekly reminders until the April 20 deadline. Weekly reminders will also continue after the deadline if an affected veteran hasn't updated their bank information by then.
Affected veterans who don't choose a single bank account by April 20 will still receive their GI Bill benefits, Jacobs stressed. In those cases, the department will automatically start depositing the education payments into the bank account the veteran uses for their other benefits, he explained.
