New Changes to Federal VA GI Bill Payment Policies Regarding Direct Deposit

Students receiving education benefits from the federal VA need to be mindful of upcoming changes to benefits policies.

While fewer than 2% of military-connected students at UW-Madison are affected by the following changes, we wanted to provide visibility and elevate the federal VA’s guidance due to the importance and potential financial impact to affected students.

Students who receive payments from the VA for multiple benefits (for example, education and disability compensation) must ensure that all benefit payments are set up for direct deposit into the same financial institution/bank account no later than April 20, 2024. The federal VA will no longer allow beneficiaries to have multiple bank accounts listed.

Changing payment information is an individual, self-service process. You can find step-by-step instructions at Change Your VA Direct Deposit Information | Veterans Affairs, or by following these steps:

  1. Sign in to VA.gov with a verified Login.gov or ID.me account.
  2. Go to the Direct deposit information section of their VA.gov profile.
    • There will be a box with direct deposit information for education benefits AND a box for the other benefit they receive.
    • If the accounts don’t match, you must update the information so it’s the same for all benefits.

Please direct questions you have about this process to the VA’s Education Call Center (800-442-4551), as UVS staff cannot assist with updating your financial institution information.