This year’s permanent fund dividend amount totals $878.
According to the Alaska Department of Revenue, that’s down from last year’s amount, which totaled $1,174. State officials had been warning residents the dividend would be less this year due to stagnant returns for the Permanent Fund’s portfolio. Revenue Commissioner Bryan Butcher said the dividend is calculated by taking a five-year average of the fund’s investment returns and the major downturn in the economy four years ago is still affecting the totals.
“As long as the fiscal year 09 year that lost in the billions of dollars from, as we all remember, the late 2008 drop in the stock market, as long as that year is part of the five-year calculation, it’s going to be a little lower. So next year’s dividend will be the last year that that down year will be factored in,” he said.
This past fiscal year, which ended June 30, allowed for only a 0.2 percent increase in investments. The dividend will be distributed to eligible Alaskans on October 4.