PFD amount to be announced Monday

Published 10:39 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Gov. Bill Walker will announce the amount of the 2015 Permanent Fund Dividend at 10 a.m. Monday in Anchorage.

The dividend, which last year was $1,884, will be distributed Oct. 1.

The annual distribution, handed out each fall since 1982, is based on a five-year rolling average of the Alaska Permanent Fund’s net income.

Last month, the Permanent Fund announced that $1.37 billion would be available for dividend distribution this year. After that announcement, the state must determine how many people applied for the dividend this year. The $1.37 billion will be divided by the number of applicants to reach Monday’s figure.

Because a relatively poor year of returns has aged off the five-year rolling average, this year’s dividend is expected to be the largest since the dividend program began. In 2008, the current high year, payments of $2,069 were distributed to just over 610,000 Alaskans.

— Juneau Empire

Community gatherings have been scheduled in Nikiski for information on the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas project.

The meetings will be held today from 9-11 a.m. and again on Sept. 24 from 4-6 p.m. and the Tree House Restaurant, 51708 Kenai Spur Highway in Nikiski. Coffee and information about the project will be provided, according to a project media release.

— Staff report