04/15/2026
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has determined approximately 96,000 Veterans may be eligible for a refund of their unused Veterans' Educational Assistance Program (VEAP) contributions totaling up to $2,700, but VA only has contact information for 25% of them. We need to reach the other 75% and need your help. While we search and cross-reference other VA databases for contact information, you can notify those of your members who might be eligible so they can reach out to us and request a refund of their VEAP contribution.
Below, we have provided talking points you can use to inform your members nationally or share with individual chapters to help them identify potentially affected members and explain the situation to them.
VA has informed us that approximately 96,000 Post-Vietnam Era Veterans or their dependents may be entitled to a refund of contributions they made to the Veterans' Educational Assistance Program (VEAP). If you don’t know, VEAP was a service member education and training savings program for Post-Vietnam Era Veterans.
Why are some service members owed refunds?
In general, Veterans have ten years from their date of discharge to use their education benefits. Some ineligible Veterans still have unused contributions and are entitled to a refund.
Who might be missing their refund?
Veterans potentially eligible for a refund would have:
Entered Active Duty between 01/01/77 to 06/30/85
Contributed to VEAP while on active duty and before 4/01/87
Not used all their contributions
Not have been dishonorably discharged
Completed 24 months of continuous service or have been discharged early due to:
Convenience of the government within three months of the end of their enlistment (an “early out” under Title 10, Section 1171)
Hardship (under Title 10, Section 1173)
Service-connected disability (this includes those rated for a compensable service-connected disability even if they were not discharged for that disability)
What should an eligible, or potentially eligible, Veteran do?
If you have unused VEAP funds, you should submit VA Form 22-5281 after completing sections 1-6, 14, 15, and 18. It will take 3-4 weeks to receive a response and/or refund via U.S Treasury check.
If you are unsure whether you are eligible for a refund or whether you participated in VEAP, you can call the Education Call Center at 1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442 4551) domestically or 001-918-781-5678 overseas, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CT.
Thank you for your help in this.
Respectfully,
Education Service
