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Alaska Veterans Benefits & Disabled Veterans Benefits

Veterans Benefits in Alaska

In addition to federal programs such as the GI Bill, there are state-level veterans’ benefits programs to help you with your education. You can also learn about veterans’ benefits in other states.

Education Benefits for Veterans in Alaska

Alaska National Guard Tuition Assistance

Army.mil lists an option for 100% tuition assistance for qualifying National Guard members who want to attend an educational, vocational, or technical training school. Resident tuition is available at any University of Alaska System school for active-duty military personnel or members of the National Guard, or their spouses or dependent children. Service members attending a school that is not part of the University of Alaska system can get up to $2,500 a year for credit courses, or up to $1,500 for licensure or certification.

United States veterans, their spouses, or dependent children eligible for a VA education benefit may be eligible for in-state/resident tuition rates at Alaska public colleges regardless of state residence. Qualifying students must move to and remain in Alaska during their studies.

Alaska State Tuition Waiver For Survivors

The State of Alaska offers tuition waivers to spouses and dependents of Alaska resident military members who died in the line of duty, are prisoners of war, or are listed as Killed In Action. Qualifying military spouses and dependents may qualify for a waiver of “all undergraduate tuition and fees through the University of Alaska system,” according to the State of Alaska.

RELATED: National Guard Tuition Assistance

Housing Benefits for Veterans in Alaska

AHFC Mortgage Program

The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) offers a Veterans Mortgage Program, which provides mortgage financing for qualified veterans.

AHFC options include a Veterans Interest Rate Preference, where a veteran can receive a 1% lower interest rate (on the first $50,000) of a mortgage loan, but applicants must not be currently on active duty, and income restrictions may apply; this is a need-based mortgage loan program. According to the State of Alaska, “To apply for a loan under this program, contact an AHFC-approved lender…Ask the bank handling the financing to implement this program for you.” Vets must apply within 25 years of their date of discharge.

Land Discount/Purchase Preference

The Veterans Land Discount program offers qualifying veterans a 20% discount on the purchase price of state residential or recreational land. It’s an option that may be used only once during the veteran’s lifetime.

Using this benefit, qualifying veterans may have the option to purchase such land without bidding against others. These parcels are typically five acres or less, classified as settlement land, and zoned for residential use only.

According to the official site, “Under the veteran’s land sale preference, before offering to the general public an unoccupied residential land by auction, a veteran has the exclusive opportunity to purchase the land at a restricted sale at fair appraised market value.”

Property Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans

Qualifying disabled veterans may apply for a property tax exemption on the first $150,000 of a primary residence’s assessed value. This applies if the veteran has a service-connected medical issue that results in 50% or higher disability.  If the veteran passes away and the spouse is at least 60 years old, this exemption transfers to them.

Health Care Benefits for Veterans in Alaska

For veteran healthcare in Alaska, there are multiple options, starting with the Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System in Anchorage. There are also VA Community-Based Outpatient Services in:

• Fairbanks
• Kenai
• Mat-Su
• Juneau

You can also find Alaska Veterans Centers in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Wasilla.

Employment Benefits for Veterans in Alaska

Veterans Employment Services

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has job centers across Alaska. The job centers in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Wasilla are all said to feature on-site veteran representatives, but even in centers without such help, you will find “priority services” offered to veterans and eligible spouses.

The services at the job centers include priority job referral, career counseling, and career assessment, as well as the following options:

• Employment assessment
• Job development
• Job search workshops
• Referral to educational services
• Resume help

Veteran Employment Tax Credit

The State of Alaska offers a tax credit for companies hiring veterans who work in the state. The veteran must be unemployed for more than four weeks and meet other criteria as applicable:

• Disabled Veterans: Must not have been released or discharged more than 10 years before the date employment begins.
• Non-disabled Veterans: Not been released or discharged more than two years before the date employment begins.

The tax credit amounts have in the past, included the following:

• $3,000 for a disabled veteran
• $2,000 for a non-disabled veteran
• $1,000 for a veteran working in a seasonal position

Check the official State of Alaska government site for the most current dollar amounts.

Hour requirements to qualify:

• Full-time: Employees must earn 1,560 hours over 12 consecutive months immediately following employment
• Seasonal: Employees must earn 500 hours over three consecutive months

State Retirement Benefits for Veterans

Alaska offers two separate retirement programs for veterans and National Guard members:

Alaska National Guard and Naval Militia Retirement System (NGNMRS): This retirement system pays eligible service members $100 per month for each month they are credited with satisfactory service in the Alaska National Guard or the Naval Militia. Rather than a monthly payment, service members can choose to receive a lump sum or accelerated payments, completed no later than age 72. If a service member dies on active duty after at least five years of satisfactory service, their beneficiary will receive the total accrued benefit in a single lump sum.

Military Service Credit for Alaska Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS): Former service members who were honorably discharged and vested in PERS can buy up to five years of PERS credit for their active duty time. It won’t change their retirement date, but it will pad their monthly check when they do retire. The cost for each year of credit is 8.5% of the service member’s salary when they became vested in PERS.

State Employment Preference For Veterans

Alaska offers eligible Veterans and National Guard Service members preference “when hiring for public employment,” according to the State of Alaska. All applicants must meet the minimum qualifications for the position to qualify for the preference. There are three levels of hiring preference: 10 points for disabled veterans, 5 points for non-disabled veterans, and 0 points for those qualifying under sole survivorship.

When hiring is done on a points-based system, qualifying service members may be eligible for up to 5% of the total points available; disabled Veterans and former prisoners of war may qualify for points up to 10% of the total points available, added to their score.

When a numerical system is not used, applicants are offered “consideration,” and a disabled Veteran or prisoner of war will be given an opportunity to interview, according to the official site.

Who is eligible for this hiring preference? Those who served on active duty for 181 days or more and received an honorable discharge during the following periods, which include but are not limited to:

• Between April 6, 1917, and December 1, 1919
• Between September 16, 1940, and December 31, 1947
• Between June 27, 1950, and October 14, 1976
• Between August 2, 1990, and January 2, 1992, beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on a date to be determined.
• Served 181 days or more in the Alaska Territorial Guard.

There are eligibility criteria for disabled veterans, which include having served on active duty with an honorable discharge AND the veteran:

• Was discharged due to a service-connected disability
• Is entitled to disability compensation from the VA
• Was disabled in the line of duty while serving in the Alaska Territorial Guard

Members of the Alaska National Guard may also qualify. You must be either currently serving or have an honorable discharge. Those competing for Alaska state government jobs may qualify for 5 or 10 veteran preference points.

State of Alaska Veteran Death Benefit

Army.mil reports the State of Alaska offers a death gratuity of $750 to the surviving spouse of a veteran buried on or after May 13, 1984, or who died on or after September 19, 1990. If there is no surviving spouse, the gratuity will be paid to the veteran’s personal representative. The gratuity requires an Honorable discharge or a discharge Under Honorable Conditions for those who served in the Guard, Reserve, or on active duty.

Residency requirements apply; the servicemember must have been an Alaska resident for at least a year before service and must have returned to Alaska within a year of leaving the military. The veteran must also have been a resident of the state for a year before death.

Alaska Railroad Discount for Veterans

Current service members, veterans, and their dependents are eligible for a discount on Alaska Railroad travel. Contact the Alaska Railroad for current discount rates and eligibility requirements.

Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD)

One unique Alaska benefit is the Permanent Fund Dividend, which pays eligible residents (including veterans and some active duty service members) an annual sum. The application window runs from January 1 through March 31, and eligible recipients must have been an Alaska resident for the full prior calendar year and plan to remain in the state long-term.

For more information regarding Alaska veterans’ benefits, please visit the Alaska State Office of Veteran Affairs website.

RELATED:

• State Veterans’ Benefits – By State
• Alaska BAH Rates
• Yellow Ribbon Schools
• CollegeRecon Scholarship Finder
• States Offering Free College to Dependents
• College Scholarships in Alaska