KSRM has predicted Alaska’s 2015 PFD checks to be around $2,053. Governor Bill Walker will announce the exact amount at 10 am.
Based on the five year average of Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. earnings, many agencies have calculated a check over $2,000 this year for eligible Alaskans.
Some are also worried that this may be one of the last years of dividend checks because of efforts by the legislature to balance out the state’s budget.
In reference to tapping the Alaska Permanent Fund earnings to assist the budget deficit, Senate President Kevin Meyer recognized a risk to the annual payout if oil prices continue to drop in the future.
Sen. Meyer(R-Anchorage): “Nobody has a crystal ball of what the stock market is going to do and yes that is a risk that we could run that if we have two or three years of down markets that we may not have the money then to pay dividends but then again if we have that many years of a downed market, should people expect to get a dividend?”
But Soldotna Senator Peter Micciche said that’s a very small risk. He added that many people misunderstand how the Alaska Permanent Fund accounts are arranged.
Sen. Micciche(R-Soldotna): “There’s the Constitutional Budget Reserve which are dollars that we call our savings, we’re trying to extend that as long as possible in the legislature. And then there’s the Earnings Reserve of the Permanent Fund which is something that legislators can spend today, that is where the Permanent Fund Dividend comes from. Then there’s the corpus of the Permanent Fund which is where the lion’s share of funds sit, that’s where the earnings are derived that go into the earnings reserve. One of the potential solutions for part of the gap is using a portion of the earnings reserve.”
Senator Micciche predicted this year’s dividend to be $2,084, which would be the highest payout ever. In 2008, eligible applicants received $2,069. The lowest payout occurred in 1984 when the check was only $331.29 each.
KSRM 920 AM will air Governor Walker’s PFD check amount live at 10 am.