Alaskans make plans for their 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The 2022 Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is the largest in Alaskan history, with more than $3,200 being distributed to residents across the state.

This amount includes $650 to offset increased energy costs, a major expense in the Interior. “My entire PFD is going to go towards my heating costs this year. The dramatic increase has put a lot of my projects on hold that I was hoping to get accomplished, and everything has changed since the cost of heating has gone up,” said Justin Oellerich.

First distributed in 1982, the dividend given to each qualified Alaskan has varied over the years, from less than $400 to over $2,000.

Residents use their PFDs for a wide variety of projects and purchases. “I think we’re going to help our daughter buy a house in Italy,” said Betsy Sturm.

Resident Carl Triplehorn, meanwhile, said, “I’m waiting for the specials to drop with Alaska Airlines.”

“I saw some cool ones coming up for Hawaii, but I’m looking for more,” he added.

James H. Gregory explained, “A portion of it is going to pay back my sister a loan she loaned me a few months ago, $500 of it, so I got that in the mail right now.”

Some parents choose to invest their children’s PFDs into an Alaska 529 plan for post-secondary education.

Charity-minded Alaskans can also donate some of their dividend to causes in their community and their state. “I also would like to use some of the money to contribute to local and national problems, like especially all the disaster out on the west coast. They really need money, and so I’d like to contribute some of my PFD to that,” Sturm said.

For others, it helps to pay the bills. Gregory said he is “a little bit behind on my rent. I’m going to fix that up, a couple months. I had a little bit of an identity theft. Somebody got a hold of my ATM and took some money out, and it was quite a big amount, so I wasn’t prepared to take that loss, so I got behind on my rent.”

Dividends that are being disbursed in other ways, including paper checks, are expected to start coming out the week of October 6.

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