Vets say late pay cripples their finances

DENVER — Exasperated veterans who work part-time for the Veterans Administration while attending college say their paychecks are sometimes weeks late, leaving them in trouble with bill collectors or having to borrow money to avoid eviction.

The two-week paycheck is typically about $360, and can be vital to veterans raising families and juggling expenses.

"It's absolutely crucial," said Neal Boyd, an Army veteran who has two children, attends Danville Area Community College in Illinois and works for the VA in the school's career services office to help other veterans.

The VA work-study program lets them work an average of up to 25 hours a week on the VA payroll if they are full-time or three-quarter-time college students.

The program is separate from other GI Bill benefits such as tuition and textbook assistance and a housing allowance that varies by location. But veterans said those benefits don't cover all their expenses, and they need a job to make ends meet.

The veterans were paid a total of $25.7 million in fiscal year 2011 — the most recent year for which statistics were available. They are paid the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, or their state's minimum wage, whichever is higher.

The number of veterans in the program depends on the needs of their schools, and veterans qualify based on their financial need and other factors, the VA said. Veterans who want to join the program submit a contract to the VA for approval.

More than 10,000 veterans are in the VA work-study program nationwide, but it's difficult to pin down how widespread the paycheck delays are.

The VA said on average, the checks are issued less than a week after time cards are received by the VA, but acknowledged they have been delayed at a processing center in St. Louis, one of four nationwide, because of a heavy workload and the loss of three workers.