Anchorage Daily News

Most Alaskans will receive their Permanent Fund dividends on Sept. 12, the state said this afternoon.

That's about three weeks earlier than was initially announced.

This year's payment of about $2,100 - the exact amount hasn't been announced yet - will be supplemented by a $1,200 "resource rebate," for a total payment of about $3,300 per Alaskan.

The annual dividend payment comes from investment profits of the $36 billion Alaska Permanent Fund, a state oil-wealth savings account.

The Legislature approved the extra $1,200 payment this month to help Alaskans cope with high energy costs.

The Sept. 12 payments will go to all 500,000 or so Alaskans who asked for their dividend to be direct-deposited into their bank account, said Bill McAllister, spokesman for Gov. Sarah Palin. The previous plan was to pay some of them on Oct. 2 and the rest on Oct. 16.

Checks will be mailed to those who asked for payment that way during the week of Sept. 30, McAllister said.

Applicants who asked for a direct-deposited payment but who have changed accounts or banks have until the end of business Aug. 29 to submit a form to the state Permanent Fund Dividend Division requesting a change. The form is available online at www.pfd.alaska.gov.

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