Alaskans pocket over $3,000 in annual oil-wealth payments

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Nearly every single Alaskan got a financial windfall amounting to more than $3,000 Tuesday (Sept. 20, 2022). That’s the day the state began distributing payments from Alaska’s investment fund that has been seeded with money from the state’s oil riches. The payments, officially called the Permanent Fund Dividend or the PFD locally, amounted to $2,622. That’s the highest amount ever. Alaska lawmakers added $662 as a one-time benefit to help residents with high energy costs. Residents use the money in various ways, from buying big-screen TVs, vehicles or other goods, using it for vacations or putting it in savings or college funds. In rural Alaska, the money can help offset the enormous food and fuel costs.