Few people who depend on a paycheck to pay their bills can afford to have their wages delivered even a few days late.

There are mouths to feed, landlords to pay and auto gas tanks that need to be filled. College students especially need to know their work-study program paychecks will arrive on a timely basis.

Many veterans working part time for the Veterans Administration while attending college are complaining their paychecks are often late. Sometimes it's just a few days, sometimes it's weeks and occasionally it takes more than a month to receive them, the Associated Press reports.

VA officials blame the delays on a heavy workload at its four processing centers and the loss of workers. They say they have hired more workers and are looking at other changes to speed up the checks.

Paychecks for veterans with work-study jobs aren't huge. The students are allowed to work up to 25 hours a week as part of the program, and on average they are paid about $360 every two weeks. It may not sound like much, but for those who rely on them to live it can mean going hungry and getting evicted if they don't arrive in a timely fashion.

Last fiscal year, veterans earned $25.7 million in study jobs that pay the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour or the minimum wage in the state where they reside, whichever is higher.

Many veterans qualify for GI Bill benefits that cover tuition, textbooks and some of their housing, but those benefits are not sufficient to meet all their needs so they take work-study jobs.

It's time to reduce the bureaucracy and get those checks out in a more timely fashion.

These part-time government workers who served our country in the military should not have to be burdened with getting late paychecks issued month after month.