What You Need to Know About VR&E
Student veterans with service-connected disabilities may be eligible for more than one VA education benefit. (Wikimedia Commons)
If you’re a veteran with a service-connected disability, you may have options when it comes to paying for higher education.
While the Post-9/11 GI Bill®️ remains the most widely used veterans’ education benefit among veterans, those who qualify for the Veteran Readiness and Employment Services program can use these benefits to cover some postsecondary programs.
Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the program — and what you need to know before you apply for the benefit.
What is VR&E?
The Veteran Readiness and Employment Services program — VR&E for short — is a benefit administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans with service-connected disabilities that make it difficult to work.
The program helps veterans across a number of employment-related tracks: reemployment, rapid access to employment, self-employment, employment through long-term services and independent living. Under the long-term services track, veterans who need higher levels of education or vocational training to maintain suitable employment. That can include money toward certifications or college classes, with benefits comparable to Post-9/11GI Bill®️ payouts.
VR&E formerly stood for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, or Voc Rehab. The VA changed the name in 2020 to better reflect the services offered — and because the old name caused some confusion. It’s also sometimes called Chapter 31.
Who is eligible?
Veterans who have a service-connected disability rating of at least 20 percent with an employment handicap or have a rating of 10 percent with a serious employment handicap, as designated by the VA are eligible to apply for VR&E, as long as were not discharged or released from the military under dishonorable conditions. In other words, if your service-connected disability makes it difficult for you to work, you should look into this program.
Active-duty service members who expect to receive an honorable discharge and a VA disability rating of 20 percent or more can also apply. You can get a proposed Disability Evaluation System (DES) rating of 20 percent or more from VA or a referral to a Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), a process used by the Defense Department and VA to determine service members’ fitness for duty and proposed VA disability rating if they are medically unfit to continue serving.
What recent changes do I need to know about?
Besides the name, the VA also recently made another big change to VR&E.
While previously, you couldn’t use VR&E benefits in conjunction with your GI Bill®, you can now. This means that using VR&E benefits for their full 48 months won’t stop you from also being able to use the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill®️, which pays for 36 months of college, essentially the standard length of a four-year degree.
Keep in mind, this doesn’t work the other way around though. To use the full amount of both benefits, you have to use VR&E first — then the GI Bill.
This change went into effect April 1, 2021. The VA has said the department will contact any veterans affected by the update.
How much do I get with the benefit?
The monthly subsistence allowance that comes with the benefit is based on how many classes you’re taking and whether or not you have dependents. For example, a full-time student with no dependents gets $653.96 per month for the 2020-21 school year, while a full-time student with two dependents gets $955.92 and another $69.66 for each additional dependent.
If you enroll only half time, the payout is $328.78 a month with no dependents, $407.36 with one dependent and $478.83 with two. And if you are also eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you may qualify to receive a monthly housing allowance on par with BAH rates for active-duty service members in your area.
These rates changed yearly. Check out the full breakdown on the VA’s website for more details.