Alaska residents to receive boost of $1,900 each from state oil wealth fund in one of the largest payouts since the Great Recession

  • Alaska residents will receive the $1,900 dividend payout on October 2
  • It comes from an oil fund created to benefit future Alaska generations
  • The payout is also the biggest return on the fund since Great Recession
  • The state oil fund will give out more than $1.1billion in total

By Corey Charlton for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Residents of Alaska are set to receive $1,900 each this year in oil dividends - the best return on the state's oil wealth account since the Great Recession.

In one of the most highly anticipated days of the year, residents yesterday learned of the boost in an announcement by Governor Sean Parnell.

The state's Permanent Fund Dividend was created to benefit all current and future generations of Alaskans, and pays out a dividend every year.

Residents of Alaska are set to receive $1,900 each this year in dividends from a state oil fund. Pictured is BP's Prudoe Bay oil facility in the country's north

Residents of Alaska are set to receive $1,900 each this year in dividends from a state oil fund. Pictured is BP's Prudoe Bay oil facility in the country's north

Although the payout to be distributed on October 2 is more than double the amount of last year's $900 checks, it is still short of the record payout of $2,069 in 2008. 

The dividends are distributed annually to men, women and children who sign up for it after living in the state for at least one calendar year, or were born in Alaska by the December 31 deadline of the previous year.

This year, nearly 599,000 Alaskans will receive checks, either through direct deposit or in the mail. 

Of those, the oldest recipient is 109 years old and the youngest includes 26 children who were born Dec. 31. Altogether, the checks total $1.1 billion.

The amount of each person's check is based on a five-year average of the fund's investment earnings, which have included the recession years. Alaska wasn't hit as hard by the recession as the Lower 48, but the Permanent Fund Corporation has a diversified portfolio that was clobbered when markets plunged worldwide.

The fund has since recovered, according to officials. The fund had a balance of $29.9 billion in 2009, compared to $51.2 billion five years later.

While many use their payouts for things such as vacations and big-screen TVs. But in the remote village of Deering, city administrator Mike Jones says his family's share, $5,652 for the family of three, will go toward bills and heating fuel, which is $6.50 a gallon and rising.

'There was a time when I was younger I would go for snow machines and fun stuff,' he said.

These days, necessities take precedence for the family in the Inupiat Eskimo community 520 miles northwest of Anchorage.

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell reaveals to an audience in Anchorage the amount of this year's dividend

Alaska Governor Sean Parnell reaveals to an audience in Anchorage the amount of this year's dividend

Businesses often rush to take advantage of the cash infusion, offering Permanent Fund Dividend deals.

For example, the Girl Scouts of Alaska announced a 10 percent discount on all non-uniform apparel in a 'PFD Super-Saver' sale being held through Friday at an Anchorage Girl Scouts store.

Alaska Airlines announced more than 90 destinations available through a PFD sale running between September 24 and October 29.

The fund was established in 1976 after the discovery of oil on Alaska's North Slope. The state began distributing fund money to residents in 1982.

If an Alaskan has qualified for all of the checks distributed since the beginning, they would have collected $37,027.41. With the upcoming distribution, the state will have distributed more than $21.9 billion over the years. 

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