 March 15, 2005
The Permanent Fund Dividend Division projects approximately 635,000 Alaskans will file for the 2005 dividend. With less than three weeks to go, over 205,000 have yet to apply. The March 31 deadline is a matter of law with exceptions only for military members serving overseas who are eligible for hostile fire/imminent danger pay, and for individuals who can demonstrate that a disability prevented them from filing on March 31. According to Paul Dick, Operations Manager for PFD, the PFD on-line filing system will accept applications until mid-night AST, March 31, 2005. "An applicant must have all information entered into the system and successfully submit the application before midnight," said Mr. Dick. "The on-line application will be shut off at mid-night and anyone in the middle of an application will be out of luck," he said. The division projects that more than 200,000 Alaskans will choose to file on-line this year. Hand delivered or courier delivered applications must be received in a Dividend Information Office by 5:00 pm AST, March 31, 2005. Applications mailed by US Postal Service or foreign mail must be postmarked on or before March 31, 2005. "Last year, 1,687 individuals were denied because they applied after the deadline", said Sharon Barton, Director of the dividend division. "One family with six children waited to apply on-line until minutes before midnight, and just ran out of time", she said. Barton recommended that folks apply now and not wait until the last day. "If you do not have all necessary support documents at this time, you should go ahead and file your application," she said. "The application will be considered timely, and the support documents can be submitted as soon as they are available." On-line applicants will receive immediate confirmation after they complete the application process. Paper applicants will not receive confirmation but can check the status of their applications on the PFD web-site about 30 days after submission. Applicants who select direct deposit will be paid two weeks earlier than those who request a check. Direct deposits will be made on October 12 and checks will be mailed starting October 26. The on-line application and more information can be found at www.pfd.state.ak.us. Individuals who are filing for the first time should check the rules for eligibility on the web-site or call one of the following numbers:
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