The President has signed the VOW to Hire Heroes Act into law. There are several provisions in the law that will have a positive impact on the veteran unemployment rate. The most often reported of these are tax credits for employers who hire veterans and wounded warriors ($5,600/veteran and $9,600/disabled veteran).
However, there is one provision that is not being as widely reported that will come as great news to unemployed veterans over the age of 35 – a new shot at 12 months of the Montgomery GI Bill.
That's right, the pre-9/11 veterans who often feel as if they have been forgotten, may soon qualify for as much as $17,600 for education and training. This benefit can be used for finishing up a college degree, certification, vocational training, On-the-Job Training and more.
This new benefit could help about 60 percent of the current 850K unemployed veterans. To qualify, veterans must be 35 -60 years old, unemployed, and not currently enrolled (or within the past 6 months) in a state or federal job training program.
The remaining question is, how soon can the VA pull the trigger and start accepting applications.
Stay tuned for updates...
