CFP René Bruer was an active duty member of the Marine Corps for four years in the late 1990s and suffered a spinal injury during training for infantry operations in Camp Lejeune, N.C. He also endured other minor injuries that eventually required surgery. That made him eligible for VA disability.

“Going through that process I learned a lot about VA benefits—what’s out there—navigating it myself and frankly how disjointed and cumbersome the system really is for veterans,” says Bruer, who also has many service members in his family. It doesn’t help, he says, that many people keep their service to their country to themselves. “They don’t realize that they actually have something that they are entitled to.”

Sometimes they even feel they are taking the benefit away from someone else, but that’s not the case. “If it doesn’t get used, it doesn’t get used,” says Bruer, a co-CEO at Smith Bruer Advisors in Tallahassee, Fla. “If you don’t apply, you won’t get it and the next person won’t get it.”

And there are some really good benefits out there, he says. He was surprised at how much there was to know—and how much many vets don’t know about it.

Advisors who know what those benefits are, in retirement, college education or health care, can become a great help to military clients. Those include obvious benefits like the GI Bill for college, especially the post-9/11 GI Bill. But there are also property tax breaks, mortgage breaks, medical benefits, college benefits for the children of veterans and job programs that allow veterans to move to the head of the application line. There are also long-term-care benefits for those with more serious injuries. “They can apply for more specific vocational programs or even graduate school,” Bruer says. “Anything above and beyond what their 9/11 GI Bill would cover.”

CFP René Bruer was an active duty member of the Marine Corps for four years in the late 1990s and suffered a spinal injury during training for infantry operations in Camp Lejeune, N.C. He also endured other minor injuries that eventually required surgery. That made him eligible for VA disability.

“Going through that process I learned a lot about VA benefits—what’s out there—navigating it myself and frankly how disjointed and cumbersome the system really is for veterans,” says Bruer, who also has many service members in his family. It doesn’t help, he says, that many people keep their service to their country to themselves. “They don’t realize that they actually have something that they are entitled to.”

Sometimes they even feel they are taking the benefit away from someone else, but that’s not the case. “If it doesn’t get used, it doesn’t get used,” says Bruer, a co-CEO at Smith Bruer Advisors in Tallahassee, Fla. “If you don’t apply, you won’t get it and the next person won’t get it.”

And there are some really good benefits out there, he says. He was surprised at how much there was to know—and how much many vets don’t know about it.

Advisors who know what those benefits are, in retirement, college education or health care, can become a great help to military clients. Those include obvious benefits like the GI Bill for college, especially the post-9/11 GI Bill. But there are also property tax breaks, mortgage breaks, medical benefits, college benefits for the children of veterans and job programs that allow veterans to move to the head of the application line. There are also long-term-care benefits for those with more serious injuries. “They can apply for more specific vocational programs or even graduate school,” Bruer says. “Anything above and beyond what their 9/11 GI Bill would cover.”

GI Bill

The post-9/11 GI Bill will cover all in-state tuition and fees for up to four years at public schools and also offers certain maximums per year for private schools and out-of-state schools (it was $23,671 for the 2018-2019 academic year). But there are other perks as well—an unused portion of the benefit (up to 36 months) can be transferred to spouses for vets who have served six years and commit to four more. After 10 years, a veteran’s children can use the benefit as well. 

Veterans also get job help and also job preference, according to their different “scores” in the U.S. government federal civil service. Under the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Veterans Opportunity to Work), active-duty military members can be treated as veterans in their job searches, since many start looking for work before they’ve separated from service.

There are also tax breaks that disabled veterans are entitled too, says advisor Chris Jackson, who also works with veterans and military widows.

“The VA may determine retroactively that you were entitled to additional disability benefits that were already reported in prior years as taxable pension,” says Jackson, who works at Lionshare Partners in Los Angeles. “You may consider amending previous tax returns to reclassify the amounts based on the VA directive, and apply for an income tax refund.”

Jackson says it’s important for veterans to work with tax advisors who know how their income is categorized.

“The first thing to know is that pension payments received after retirement from the military are taxable and should be reported on your tax returns, he says. “Disability benefits received from the Department of Veterans Affairs do not need to be reported on your personal tax return.”

The VA website also mentions the Survivors Pension benefit, “a tax-free monetary benefit payable to a low-income, un-remarried surviving spouse and/or unmarried child(ren) of a deceased veteran with wartime service.” That benefit is figured as the difference between your income and a pension limit set by Congress, Jackson says. The VA “generally pays this difference in 12 equal monthly payments.”

College Help

Most states offer some kind of college scholarship, grant or some other form or aid to veterans or their dependents, especially if the veteran is disabled, has died, or is MIA. Many states go all the way and spring for tuition as long as the students meet certain residency and age requirements. In Connecticut, for example, veterans can attend public colleges tuition free as long as they live in the state and are accepted to the schools. In Indiana, children of disabled veterans get 124 semester hours of free tuition as long as they are residents of the state. California offers a college fee waiver for all its public universities for the children and spouses of veterans who have a “total disability” related to their service. These colleges include the State of California Community College, California State University or University of California systems. Other states such as New Mexico, Maine, Nebraska, Kansas and Kentucky also offer various forms of tuition waivers for state schools to dependents of those killed in the line of duty or who meet requirements of total disability related to service.

Many veteran’s benefits are triggered by the “percentage” of disability you have, Bruer says, as well as where you served. The percentages are tricky and can add up to more than 100%. For 50% service-related disability, you can get prescriptions and free scans, MRIs, etc. There’s a whole different benefits package for those exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, for instance, than there is for someone who served in Afghanistan or the Pacific in World War II, Bruer says. “It’s not like there’s a clear template for anybody.”

If the veterans are quiet or coy about their service, they might not only miss out on benefits but feel themselves isolated when it comes to depression or PTSD. Suicide is a major problem among veterans. “With 22 veterans committing suicide every day in this country, a lot of veterans that I’m friends with really take that to heart,” Bruer says. “I have had friends who have killed themselves. Friends who had friends who killed themselves. And you want to be there for them and advocate and push the system to take care of these people.”

There’s also a fast-track for SBA loans, Bruer says. Under its vocational rehabilitation program, Bruer says, the Department Veterans Affairs will subsidize some of the pay for employers who hire veterans. It’s enough to pay for a CFP’s test and prep, for instance, he adds.

By far most states have property tax exemptions of varying amounts for disabled veterans. (A list can be found at https://www.veteransunited.com/futurehomeowners/veteran-property-tax-exemptions-by-state/.) Connecticut, for instance, offers a $1,500 property tax exemption from the total assessed value to all eligible veterans; in Alabama a veteran may receive a full property tax exemption for being 100% disabled.

Home Loans

Another popular item is VA loans for housing, which require zero down payment and no primary mortgage insurance and boast better mortgage interest rates. These loans are attractive for many other reasons: There’s no prepayment penalties on them. You can keep getting them over and over as long as you’re paying off previous loans. However, there is a 2.15% funding fee for regular military that climbs on subsequent use—or declines if you kick in a down payment of 5% or more. But you better be prepared to live in the house and move into it—it’s not for flippers.

“The VA loan program is intended for purchasing primary residences,” Jackson says. “That means that the borrower must live in the property year-round; it is not intended for vacation or rental homes. However, the VA does allow homebuyers to use a VA loan to purchase a multi-unit property as long as the homebuyer certifies that they will occupy one of the units. The VA does allow for a qualified buyer to purchase a home, live in it as their primary residence and then later look to rent out the home—and in many cases even purchase again with a $0 down VA home loan using their remaining VA loan entitlement.”

He reminds borrowers that this is not a government loan: “Like other loans, VA loans are offered by private lenders such as banks, credit unions and mortgage companies. … One lesser known feature of the VA loan program is the opportunity to do a cash-out refi and refinance an existing home loan (including a non-VA loan).”

Breaks on business operation is another perk to look for. California, for instance, offers breaks on municipal, county and state business license fees, taxes and fees “for veterans who hawk, peddle, or vend any goods, wares, or merchandise owned by the veteran, except spirituous, malt, vinous or other intoxicating liquor, including sales from a fixed location.”

Like A Second Job

Jackson recommends visiting the VA benefits website (http://benefits.va.gov/) for benefits from education, training to loan information, to employment help and health-care benefits.

Bruer adds that veterans need to have an advocate or representative of some sort in the American Legion or in their congressman’s office. “One of the best resources for veteran’s benefits is getting to know your local VA representative, Bruer adds. “Most counties pay for that. It’s not a federal thing, it’s not even a state thing. It’s a county thing. So most counties have a veteran’s services officer.”

It’s such a disjointed and confusing system, Bruer says. “It’s almost like a second job trying to figure out what you’re entitled to.”       

The post-9/11 GI Bill will cover all in-state tuition and fees for up to four years at public schools and also offers certain maximums per year for private schools and out-of-state schools (it was $23,671 for the 2018-2019 academic year). But there are other perks as well—an unused portion of the benefit (up to 36 months) can be transferred to spouses for vets who have served six years and commit to four more. After 10 years, a veteran’s children can use the benefit as well. 

Veterans also get job help and also job preference, according to their different “scores” in the U.S. government federal civil service. Under the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Veterans Opportunity to Work), active-duty military members can be treated as veterans in their job searches, since many start looking for work before they’ve separated from service.

There are also tax breaks that disabled veterans are entitled too, says advisor Chris Jackson, who also works with veterans and military widows.

“The VA may determine retroactively that you were entitled to additional disability benefits that were already reported in prior years as taxable pension,” says Jackson, who works at Lionshare Partners in Los Angeles. “You may consider amending previous tax returns to reclassify the amounts based on the VA directive, and apply for an income tax refund.”

Jackson says it’s important for veterans to work with tax advisors who know how their income is categorized.

“The first thing to know is that pension payments received after retirement from the military are taxable and should be reported on your tax returns, he says. “Disability benefits received from the Department of Veterans Affairs do not need to be reported on your personal tax return.”

The VA website also mentions the Survivors Pension benefit, “a tax-free monetary benefit payable to a low-income, un-remarried surviving spouse and/or unmarried child(ren) of a deceased veteran with wartime service.” That benefit is figured as the difference between your income and a pension limit set by Congress, Jackson says. The VA “generally pays this difference in 12 equal monthly payments.”

College Help

Most states offer some kind of college scholarship, grant or some other form or aid to veterans or their dependents, especially if the veteran is disabled, has died, or is MIA. Many states go all the way and spring for tuition as long as the students meet certain residency and age requirements. In Connecticut, for example, veterans can attend public colleges tuition free as long as they live in the state and are accepted to the schools. In Indiana, children of disabled veterans get 124 semester hours of free tuition as long as they are residents of the state. California offers a college fee waiver for all its public universities for the children and spouses of veterans who have a “total disability” related to their service. These colleges include the State of California Community College, California State University or University of California systems. Other states such as New Mexico, Maine, Nebraska, Kansas and Kentucky also offer various forms of tuition waivers for state schools to dependents of those killed in the line of duty or who meet requirements of total disability related to service.

Many veteran’s benefits are triggered by the “percentage” of disability you have, Bruer says, as well as where you served. The percentages are tricky and can add up to more than 100%. For 50% service-related disability, you can get prescriptions and free scans, MRIs, etc. There’s a whole different benefits package for those exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, for instance, than there is for someone who served in Afghanistan or the Pacific in World War II, Bruer says. “It’s not like there’s a clear template for anybody.”

If the veterans are quiet or coy about their service, they might not only miss out on benefits but feel themselves isolated when it comes to depression or PTSD. Suicide is a major problem among veterans. “With 22 veterans committing suicide every day in this country, a lot of veterans that I’m friends with really take that to heart,” Bruer says. “I have had friends who have killed themselves. Friends who had friends who killed themselves. And you want to be there for them and advocate and push the system to take care of these people.”

There’s also a fast-track for SBA loans, Bruer says. Under its vocational rehabilitation program, Bruer says, the Department Veterans Affairs will subsidize some of the pay for employers who hire veterans. It’s enough to pay for a CFP’s test and prep, for instance, he adds.

By far most states have property tax exemptions of varying amounts for disabled veterans. (A list can be found at https://www.veteransunited.com/futurehomeowners/veteran-property-tax-exemptions-by-state/.) Connecticut, for instance, offers a $1,500 property tax exemption from the total assessed value to all eligible veterans; in Alabama a veteran may receive a full property tax exemption for being 100% disabled.

Home Loans

Another popular item is VA loans for housing, which require zero down payment and no primary mortgage insurance and boast better mortgage interest rates. These loans are attractive for many other reasons: There’s no prepayment penalties on them. You can keep getting them over and over as long as you’re paying off previous loans. However, there is a 2.15% funding fee for regular military that climbs on subsequent use—or declines if you kick in a down payment of 5% or more. But you better be prepared to live in the house and move into it—it’s not for flippers.

“The VA loan program is intended for purchasing primary residences,” Jackson says. “That means that the borrower must live in the property year-round; it is not intended for vacation or rental homes. However, the VA does allow homebuyers to use a VA loan to purchase a multi-unit property as long as the homebuyer certifies that they will occupy one of the units. The VA does allow for a qualified buyer to purchase a home, live in it as their primary residence and then later look to rent out the home—and in many cases even purchase again with a $0 down VA home loan using their remaining VA loan entitlement.”

He reminds borrowers that this is not a government loan: “Like other loans, VA loans are offered by private lenders such as banks, credit unions and mortgage companies. … One lesser known feature of the VA loan program is the opportunity to do a cash-out refi and refinance an existing home loan (including a non-VA loan).”

Breaks on business operation is another perk to look for. California, for instance, offers breaks on municipal, county and state business license fees, taxes and fees “for veterans who hawk, peddle, or vend any goods, wares, or merchandise owned by the veteran, except spirituous, malt, vinous or other intoxicating liquor, including sales from a fixed location.”

Like A Second Job

Jackson recommends visiting the VA benefits website (http://benefits.va.gov/) for benefits from education, training to loan information, to employment help and health-care benefits.

Bruer adds that veterans need to have an advocate or representative of some sort in the American Legion or in their congressman’s office. “One of the best resources for veteran’s benefits is getting to know your local VA representative, Bruer adds. “Most counties pay for that. It’s not a federal thing, it’s not even a state thing. It’s a county thing. So most counties have a veteran’s services officer.”

It’s such a disjointed and confusing system, Bruer says. “It’s almost like a second job trying to figure out what you’re entitled to.”