State Dividend Dips but Continues to Roll In

Alaska's oil revenue savings account lost money last year for the first time in its 25-year history because of the stock market turmoil, but the dividend paid to residents is shrinking by less than 10%.

This year's Alaska Permanent Fund dividend is $1,850.28 per person, the state Revenue Department said. The department estimates 590,423 people will be eligible for the payment.

Much of the state's budget is covered by oil taxes and royalties. Voters created the fund in 1976 as a savings account for some of those royalties, and it is paid to everyone who has lived in the state for at least one calendar year.