Online PFD applications available for 2005 dividends

JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman reporter

ANCHORAGE --The 2005 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application period began Sunday, and Alaskans will once again have the choice of filing online or by paper application.

The online application on the PFD Web site, www.pfd.state.ak.us, will be available 24 hours a day until midnight, March 31.

Paul Dick, the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division's chief of operations, said 155,000 people last year filed online for their PFDs. This year, PFD division officials hope that more than 200,000 out of the expected 635,000 applications will be filed online.

In a press release this week, PFD division officials said they hope the public likes what it sees in the improved online application.

"We took good notes in our conversations with applicants last year when they were having problems applying online, and we have implemented many changes," said Sharon Barton, PFD division director. "We asked the public to test our changes earlier this fall at shopping malls in Juneau and Anchorage. We received very positive comments as well as suggestions for additional improvements and we have implemented many of those suggestions. Folks who tried the online application last year will find a much more 'user friendly' application process this year."

Filing online has several advantages over paper. The system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and online filing requires no postage and no trip to the post office.

Online filers will also receive immediate confirmation when they submit their applications, while paper filers receive no confirmation.

Application booklets were expected to go into U.S. Postal Service and private mailboxes beginning Monday, Jan. 3, and additional forms are available at community locations such as libraries, city clerks' offices and legislative information offices. The application deadline is March 31.

"We urge Alaskans to file early in the application period to avoid last-minute problems," Barton said.

Last year, roughly 1,200 people filed too late and missed the deadline.

"Every year we have some very disappointed people who just miss the deadline by hours or days. Last year, one father of eight children tried to file online for himself and his children at 11:50 p.m. on March 31 and time simply ran out."

Dividends will be paid Oct. 12 to those who select direct deposit. Beginning Oct. 26, checks will be mailed to those who do not select direct deposit. In the meantime, all applicants can check the status of their applications on the PFD Web site.

Contact Joel Davidson at joel.davidson@frontiersman.com.