Every month, 730,000 veterans or survivors look for their Department of Veterans Affairs compensation, pension checks or educational assistance payments in their mailboxes. Nearly all receive them, but theft and mail delays cause problems for some veterans. Here’s a New Year’s resolution for you to consider. The VA is urging those veterans and family members now receiving paper checks to join nearly 3.1 million others whose VA payments are safely deposited electronically. VA has teamed up with the Treasury Department in a new campaign to protect government beneficiaries against the theft of funds and of their identities.

Direct deposit relieves any worry about mail delivery being delayed by severe weather or natural disasters. The deposits also eliminate trips to banks or credit unions to deposit checks, while providing immediate access to money at the same time each month.

Sign up for direct deposit by calling VA toll-free at (800) 333-1795 or enrolling online at www.GoDirect.org. Veterans and family members who receive VA payments also can sign up by contacting a VA regional benefits office or their financial institution. Information about direct deposit will be included in VA’s monthly compensation and pension envelopes throughout 2009.

Benefits: A quick review

Did you know that many of your VA benefits have an expiration date? Most veterans are not aware of the extent of their benefits, let alone that many of them can expire. The following are examples of common VA benefits and their time limits.

The following five benefits refer to VA’s education, training and employment programs:

•Montgomery GI Bill provides 36 months of education, training and on-the-job training benefits to eligible veterans; payment rates are determined by the number of classes taken. These benefits are good for 10 years from discharge or release from active duty.

•Veterans Education Assistance Program is offered to those who entered the service between Jan. 1, 1977, and June 30, 1985, for up to 36 months of education and training benefits. The program is good for 10 years from the date of discharge or release from active duty.

•The Montgomery GI Bill for selected Reserve provides members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Reserves, as well as the National Guard, with up to 36 months of education, training, and OJT benefits. These are good for 14 years from the date of eligibility for the program, or until released from the selected reserve or National Guard unit.

•The Reserve Educational Assistance Program provides benefits to members of the Reserve components called to active duty for national emergency, war, or contingency operation as declared by the president or Congress. There is no time limit while remaining in the same level of the Ready Reserve, and some extensions are available if activated.

•The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program for veterans with service-connected disabilities offers services and assistance to prepare for, find and keep suitable employment. Generally, this is good within 12 years of separation from service or within 12 years of being awarded service-connected VA disability compensation.

The following refer to VA insurance programs:

•Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance covers service members and reservists and is available in $50,000 increments to a maximum of $400,000. SGLI coverage begins when the service member enters service or changes duty status. This includes the traumatic injury protection program that provides up to $100,000 in additional coverage in case of severe traumatic injury. Coverage eligibility ends 120 days after separation from service or it can be extended up to a year for totally disabled veterans.

•Family Group Life Insurance automatically provides up to $100,000 in coverage for the spouse and children of service members insured under SGLI. Coverage eligibility ends 120 days after separation from the service.

•Veterans Group Life Insurance offers up to $400,000 in renewable term life insurance (5-year term) for veterans. Service members may convert their SGLI to veterans group life insurance. Coverage eligibility ends within 120 days of separation from the service

•Service Disabled Veterans Insurance covers a veteran who has a service-connected disability but is otherwise in good health for up to $10,000 in life insurance coverage at standard rates. Veterans who are totally disabled may apply for a waiver of premiums. Eligibility spans from within two years from the date of being notified of service-connected status

•Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance offers $90,000 in mortgage protection insurance to severely disabled veterans who have received grants for specially adapted housing from the VA. Application must be made before age 70.

Regarding health care benefits, the VA provides a wide range of health care services to veterans including treatment for military sexual trauma and for conditions possibly related to exposure to Agent Orange, ionizing radiation, and other environmental hazards in the Persian Gulf. Generally, veterans must be enrolled in VA’s health-care system to receive care.

VA provides combat veterans free health care for any illness possibly associated with service against a hostile force in a war since the Gulf War or during any period of hostility after Nov. 11, 1998. Eligibility expires five years from release from active duty.

Veterans may receive one-time dental treatment who were not provided a dental examination or treatment within 90 days of discharge or separation from service. This benefit is good for the period within 180 days of separation from the service.

For pension and compensation programs, the VA pays monthly tax-free compensation to veterans for disabilities incurred or aggravated during military service. Entitlement is established from the date of separation if the claim is filed within one year from separation.

An income-based disability pension benefit is paid to veterans with honorable wartime service who are permanently and totally disabled due to nonservice connected disabilities or who are 65 or older. There are no time limits for the latter two pension programs.

The VA Home Loan Guarantee Program offers veterans the chance to purchase a home at a low interest rate without the need of a down payment.

Although the eligibility deadlines listed above are generally set in stone, the VA may waive them if you have a legitimate reason, including health and disability issues, for not applying before the given deadlines. The VA will not, however, waive a time limit for not knowing the deadline for your benefits.

For a full explanation of VA benefits online, go to www.vba.va.gov/VBA/ or to the benefits guide at www.military.com. You can also call the VA’s Providence regional office, at 380 Westminster St., (800) 827-1000.

Your meetings listings

Veterans groups are urged to send in their 2009 calendar of meeting dates to ensure inclusion in Veterans Journal. Meeting notice calendars must be renewed each year. Send all communication by e-mail, whenever possible, to VeteransColumn@verizon.net.

Notices should include the submitter’s name, title, and telephone number, the group’s name, meeting days and dates, locations, times, and any special notations. Include a contact person and telephone number for the event, especially if reservations or tickets will be sold and, if it is a fundraiser, indicate who or what will benefit from the proceeds.

Requests for a reporter or photographer to cover events should be made through the newspaper’s newsroom contacts since this column is done by a freelance contributor. Personal replies to requests are not always possible.

Finally, as we gather this week with family and friends to welcome the New Year, take a moment to remember our veterans, especially those who have served in combat as well as our troops currently stationed overseas and their family members and friends who love and miss them. Those special men and women who keep us free deserve to be in all our thoughts and prayers at this special time of year. Happy New Year to all from your Veterans Journal columnist.

•Veterans of Foreign Wars

Gilbert-Burton Post 4487 and Auxiliary units will host a New Year’s Eve party on Wednesday at the post home, 52 Underwood Lane in Middletown, starting at 6:30 p.m. A $40 ticket covers dinner and dancing with music by Sue Nedar of the group Mojo.

Send meeting notices and veterans’ news items to George W. Reilly at VeteransColumn@verizon.net or write to The Veterans Journal Column at The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.