Of all the unique social and economic programs in the United States, Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend, or PFD, stands out as one of the most iconic and generous. It was created in 1976 with a great act of political imagination.
It was meant to make sure that the wealth produced by the state’s rich natural resources—mainly oil exploitation—would be shared directly with its people. The Alaska Permanent Fund itself, run by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, was designed to keep a part of this wealth for the future but also to give a direct yearly amount to the people of Alaska today.
This forward-looking way has made the fund one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world, with a current value above $80 billion.
Alaska’s $1,702 Stimulus Check Set to Deliver Soon
The original way said that 25% of the fund’s yearly net income would go to dividend payments, while the rest was kept to keep the state’s budget from the unstable costs of oil. But a big change came in 2016 when the state legislature got the power to change the payout amount through appropriations.
This started a long and very political argument about the balance between giving money now to the people and making sure the fund will keep growing. Today, the PFD is a fundamental part of the economy that sends billions of dollars to the local economy.
It helps with people shopping, it keeps tourists coming, and it helps small businesses all over a state where living costs are very high because of its cold climate and remote location.
Mark Your Calendars: Official PFD Payment Schedule
Today, the biggest worry for hundreds of thousands of Alaskans is that the 2025 PFD will soon be paid out. The buzz is very high, and for good reason. The official news from the Alaska Department of Revenue says that the huge payout process for the 2025 dividend will begin in a slow way in October.
The first part of payments will be made on October 2, 2025. This first group will be paid to those who filed their claims online and chose to get the money by bank deposit.
This way works much faster than waiting for the mail and avoids delays that can happen with paper delivery. A second group of people, who filed paper forms or asked for a paper check, will have their pay made on October 23, 2025. After those dates, the department will keep paying all other applications when they are finally found “eligible for payment.”
Who’s Eligible for the PFD Stimulus Checks
This system will make sure most of the around 600,000 eligible residents of Alaska get their money quickly. It will give a big boost to the economy as fall starts and Alaskans begin to prepare for a long winter. Officials say it is very important to get any old addresses or banking info changed now, preferably through the myPFD site, to stop delays.
The system will have some planned breaks from September 19 to 22 but will be back to the full system for updates after that. The most significant piece of news is how much this will be. For 2025, each resident who gets the PFD will get $1,702.
The biggest part, the PFD itself, will be $1,403.83. This is what one part of the fund’s available income is divided among all the approved claims. This money is based on how well the fund’s wide-spread global investing portfolio did this year. It is made up of global stocks, bonds, and other assets and is set to make the fund grow over the long term. To this base, the state legislature added a bonus for energy help of $298.17.
To get the PFD, a person must meet three rules. First, they must be a legal resident of Alaska and plan to stay there forever. Second, they have to have been in Alaska for at least 72 hours in a row in each of the last two years. Finally, they can’t claim the residency in another state or location during the last two years. The deadline to apply for this payout was March 31, 2025. People who missed this deadline will have to wait for the next application window, and those with convictions and felonies will not be eligible at all.