First-year calendar

• Immediately: preserve DD-214, STRs, separation health records, VA account access, and pending claim confirmations.
• VA health: apply as soon as eligible; active-duty members may apply after receiving separation or retirement orders.
• Dental: some recently separated Veterans must apply within 180 days to use one-time dental eligibility; verify the service and discharge requirements.
• VGLI: apply within 1 year and 120 days after leaving the military; applying within 240 days generally avoids a health review.
• Disability: continue documenting conditions. Certain chronic conditions arising within one year can fall under specific presumptive rules if the legal/service requirements are met.
• Solid Start: VA outreach begins after separation; do not wait for outreach if a benefit has a filing deadline.

Keep each benefit in its own lane

VA health enrollment, disability compensation, education, insurance, home loan eligibility and career programs have separate eligibility and evidence rules. A VA.gov account is a common doorway, but one application does not automatically open every benefit.

Official sources

• VA — Service Members Separating or Retiring
• VA — Active-Duty Service Members and VA Health Care
• VA — Veterans’ Group Life Insurance
• VA — Pre-Discharge / BDD Claim

Source status: SRC-104; SRC-105; SRC-106; SRC-087 verified October 4, 2026. Recheck time-sensitive enrollment and filing rules before the applicable deadline.