VA processed the 3 millionth enrollment for education benefits in the Digital G.I. Bill (DGIB) system.
The new DGIB system allows VA to process more than 60% of education claims in one day. That speed helps VA provide critical benefits to beneficiaries who have dreams to further their education.
Sarah Martinez-Hanson is just one of the over 3 million beneficiaries whose benefits have been processed in DGIB. As an Army Veteran, mother and surviving spouse, she began her education journey using the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Planning. She is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in financial planning using Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship), which she qualified for through her late husband.
“If it wasn’t for the G.I. Bill benefits, I don’t think I would have found my purpose in life,” she shared. The DGIB has provided for her a sense of ease while using her education benefits. She can easily verify her enrollment each month using text, and access to her payment history and VA profile is just a click away, online.
Education benefits can be life-changing. Improving systems and putting Veterans and their families at the center has been an important part of the process.
“Since February 2025, we’ve been systematically expanding automation for education benefits,” said Kenneth Smith, executive director of VA’s Education Service. “We’re using technology to directly improve the GI Bill experience for beneficiaries who receive VA education benefits, by delivering education payments and decisions at record rates.”
Recent G.I. Bill milestone achievements
- Record automation achievements: Automation allows beneficiary claims to be processed faster.
- As of January 2026, 69% of Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance supplemental claims were automatically processed in a matter of minutes.
- In addition, VA automatically processed claims for other G.I. Bill benefit types (including Montgomery G.I. Bill Active Duty and Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve benefits), processing over 1 million claims so far this fiscal year.
- Legacy system replacement: In August 2025, VA introduced Benefits Manager, a modern system for processing G.I. Bill claims. The introduction of Benefits Manager enabled the retirement of the Benefits Delivery Network, a 50-year-old legacy mainframe, in September 2025. The Benefits Delivery Network’s retirement directly translates to improved security and significant cost savings for the American taxpayer. With Benefits Manager, Veterans’ applications are processed in a modern system that directly enables faster claims processing times and faster results delivered directly to Veterans.
- Improved beneficiary experience: In February 2025, VA expanded pre-filled service history in the online G.I. Bill application to Montgomery G.I. Bill Active Duty and Montgomery G.I. Bill Selected Reserve beneficiaries. This update helps applicants apply for their education benefits, allowing many to submit their application in less than 15 minutes.
- New enrollment verification methods: VA extended the ability to verify enrollment via text or email to Montgomery G.I. Bill Active Duty, Montgomery G.I. Bill Selected Reserve and Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance in August 2025. Monthly enrollment verification is required for all VA education and training beneficiaries who receive monthly benefit payments. While beneficiaries have the option to verify through other methods, text and email allows for fast and convenient verification, resulting in more time to use benefits and less time managing them.
The success of DGIB means more Veterans, service members and their families are able to apply for, use and get paid the benefits that they have earned and deserve.
Author: briannogues