An Assessment of the Post 9/11 GI Bill Transfer Entitlement on Navy Enlisted Retention Rates

Abstract

The Post 9/11 GI Bill (PGIB) is one of the most transformative yet costly benefits that the VA offers. One of the most significant benefits that the PGIB program provides is the option for service members to transfer benefits to their spouses or children. The Transfer Entitlement was added to the PGIB to mitigate the expected loss of retention caused by the generous benefits in the PGIB program. This thesis focuses on the impact that the Transfer Entitlement has on retention and the current and long-term cost of this provision. The effects of the Transfer Entitlement on the retention rate were observed by assessing the difference between service members with family and service members without family. The cost of the Transfer Entitlement was obtained by the average cost of the benefits to the total number of PGIB users for each user type, and the long-term cost was obtained using inflation and interest data and projected out 30 years. The data shows that the Transfer Entitlement has a negative effect on retention; the cost of the provision annually is $465 million, with a long-term cost of $10.4 billion. Several recommendations could make the Transfer Entitlement more cost-effective, including reducing the years of service requirement to the first enlistment, requiring the transfer decision of service members during reenlistment negotiations, or converting the Transfer Entitlement into a reenlistment option.