Permanent Fund
RSSThe Permanent Fund in Alaska is a state-owned investment endowment that pays an annual dividend, the PFD, to residents. It covers trustee decisions on investment strategy and benchmarks, the dividend formula, inflation proofing and the state's spending cap.
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AlaskaCare retirees can switch dental and vision plans through Nov. 25 as premiums rise
Open enrollment opened Wednesday for state retirees in AlaskaCare's dental, vision and hearing plans, and runs until 5 pm Nov. 25.
Only retirees already enrolled in one of the two Dental-Vision-Audio plans, Standard or Legacy, can take part. They can switch plans or add dependents online at AlaskaCare.gov/DVA. Changes take effect Jan. 1. Retirees who do nothing keep their current plan but pay the new rates. Medical coverage isn't affected.
For defined-benefit retirees, premiums go up Jan. 1 by up to $14 a month in Standard and $8 in Legacy, with the same benefits. Retiree-only coverage will cost $83 a month in both plans, up from $77 in Standard and $80 in Legacy. Family coverage rises to $233, from $219 or $225. Rates are a little higher for Defined Contribution and direct-bill retirees, according to the division's rate page.
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Stories on what’s next
Governor's FY2028 Budget Submission Deadline
The Permanent Fund wants $215 million to run itself
The Permanent Fund wants $215.4 million to run itself next year, three-quarters of it going to the outside firms that manage the money.
Latest
October 2026
Permanent Fund ends its first quarter nearly flat after a $937 million September loss
The Permanent Fund made $61 million in three months on a $92 billion fund, after a $937 million September loss wiped out July and August's gains.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readFrom 
Social Security checks for about 123,000 Alaskans will rise 3.6% starting in January
Social Security checks rise 3.6% in 2027, about $75 a month for the average retiree, before Medicare takes its cut. About 123,000 Alaskans collect.
by Walter AlaskaNews4w ago1 min read
Permanent Fund hits record $91.9 billion but trails its benchmark, trustees hear in Nome
The Permanent Fund hit a record $91.9 billion and still trailed its benchmark. Turns out nearly everyone skipped the Magnificent Seven, not just Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Permanent Fund will revisit private equity risk rules in December
Permanent Fund staff, trustees and consultants doubt BlackRock's new model, which now rates private equity far less risky. A fix is due in December.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read
Permanent Fund trustees create committee to review benchmarks tied to staff bonuses
Permanent Fund trustees set up a committee to review the yardsticks used to judge investment staff and set their bonuses. Most staff got none this year.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
September 2026
Permanent Fund draw now provides two-thirds of Alaska's unrestricted revenue, corporation says
The Permanent Fund now pays for two-thirds of what Alaska spends from general revenue. Its trustees meet in Nome this week, and the public can weigh in.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska Permanent Fund hits $91.9 billion with a 12.4% return
The Alaska Permanent Fund turns 50 worth $91.9 billion after a 12.4% return. Its trustees want the annual draw locked into the state constitution.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
PFD pays Oct. 1 by direct deposit, Oct. 22 for paper filers
The state still hasn't posted what this year's dividend is worth, and the first payments go out Oct. 1. Paper filers wait until Oct. 22 for theirs.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
More from Permanent Fund
Permanent Fund has $5.7B uncommitted after reserving next draw, inflation transfer
The Permanent Fund had $5.7B uncommitted July 31 after reserving $4.1B for the next draw and $1.7B for inflation proofing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
The Permanent Fund earned a record $8.2 billion the Legislature can appropriate
The Permanent Fund earned a record $8.2 billion that lawmakers can spend. Nothing has been appropriated for inflation-proofing in three years.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Alaska's Permanent Fund had a banner year, but the money is spoken for
Alaska's Permanent Fund had a banner year, but the state has already spent it — on the budget, dividend and inflation protection, reviving a fiscal fight.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min readFrom 
The Permanent Fund earned $8.2 billion and none of it went into protected principal
The Permanent Fund earned $8.2 billion last year and moved none of it into the part of the fund Alaskans cannot spend. That is two years running.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
August 2026
The Permanent Fund's dividend account is running about $400 million ahead
The account that pays the Permanent Fund dividend held about $400 million more than it needs, a 7% cushion. No inflation proofing was appropriated for 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
An advocacy group argues that cutting the dividend is a hidden tax. Whether it is depends on a question Alaska has never settled.
An advocacy group calls dividend cuts a hidden tax, but whether that's the right word turns on an unsettled question of what the PFD fundamentally is.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read
Scammers are posing as the PFD to phish Alaskans, and the state says don't bite
Scammers are posing as the PFD Division by fake email and text to phish Alaskans. The state says don't reply, don't click, and verify with a number you know.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
July 2026
A new committee would review how the Permanent Fund measures itself
How the Permanent Fund grades itself is contested — and trustees will weigh a new committee to review the benchmarks that decide the answer.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
About Permanent Fund
The Permanent Fund in Alaska is a state-owned investment endowment that pays an annual dividend, the PFD, to residents. The subject takes in the fund itself, managed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation and its trustees, and the dividend paid from its earnings.
Recurring questions include how much the state draws from the fund's earnings each year, how that draw is split between government spending and the dividend, and whether earnings are moved into the protected principal to keep pace with inflation. The trustees' performance against benchmarks, legislative oversight of the fund's board, and proposals to change, protect or buy out the dividend also recur.
The fund sits at the center of the state budget, since its draw provides a large share of unrestricted state revenue. Dividend payment schedules and scams aimed at recipients are part of the subject as well.
More from Permanent Fund
Bill Walker is backing away from his plan to end the PFD, weeks after proposing it
Weeks after proposing a one-time $10,000 payout to end the PFD, candidate Bill Walker is walking it back, now promising a plan that "strengthens" the dividend instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
June 2026
The $15,000 PFD buy-out that never got a vote
A 2024 House bill that would have let Alaskans trade future Permanent Fund dividends for a guaranteed $15,000 payout never left committee and died when the Legislature adjourned.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Darren Morgan Deacon files for Alaska State Senate District S
Darren Morgan Deacon, a former tribal chief from Kalskag, filed as a Republican for Alaska State Senate District S on a platform of full Permanent Fund dividends and subsistence rights protection.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
May 2026
Alaska Auto-IRA Bill Lets Workers Save PFD for Retirement
Alaska passed auto-IRA bill letting workers save Permanent Fund Dividend checks for retirement. • Program auto-enrolls private workers with paycheck deductions, costs employers nothing. • Targets half of Alaska workers without employer retirement plans. • Addresses senior poverty as Social Security falls short of Alaska living costs.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Alaska Senate passes $13.9B operating budget with $200 energy relief
Alaska Senate approved $13.9B budget with $200 energy relief per person added to Permanent Fund Dividend. • Budget passed 17-3 and includes $11M for heating assistance and $29.1M in school fuel grants. • Operating budget maintains $44M surplus and now goes to House for final vote.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
House panel hears electronic pull-tab bill with 35% manufacturer cap
House panel heard testimony on a bill capping electronic pull-tab manufacturer fees at 35 percent, which operators say is too high compared to Minnesota's 20 percent.
by Alaska News6mo ago4 min read
April 2026
Alaska Lawmakers Propose Legislative Oversight of $80B Permanent Fund Board
Alaska lawmakers proposed legislative confirmation of Permanent Fund Corporation board members for the first time since 1982, as the $80 billion fund now covers over 60 percent of state spending.
by Alaska News7mo ago3 min read