This year’s Permanent Fund Dividend will be exactly $1,000. Payments to more than 600,000 Alaskans are set to begin Oct. 2.
The $1,000 PFD is the lowest in five years. Adjusted for inflation, it’s the smallest in state history. Last year’s dividend was roughly $1,700.
The Department of Revenue announced the $1,000 figure in a news release Friday afternoon, but it’s not exactly a surprise. Lawmakers approved the amount when they passed the state budget in May.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed dividends of roughly $3,900 in his budget. That would have drained more than half of the state’s main rainy-day fund. Plunging oil revenue and uncertainty about the future led legislators to cut back on both state services and the dividend this spring.
Alaskans have received annual dividends from the Permanent Fund since 1982. The state started drawing down 5% of the fund’s value each year in 2018 to help pay for dividends and other state spending. Today, the fund totals more than $86 billion.
Alaskans who applied electronically and requested direct deposits will be included in the first round of payments. People who filed paper applications or requested a physical check can expect their dividends starting Oct. 23.
Alaskans can check on the status of their PFD application at the Department of Revenue’s website.
