The exact amount will be announced in late September when the number of recipients is official.

The estimated $300 drop is not due to the current rocky market conditions, however, said Robert Storer, executive director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Those impacts won't hit until next year, since this year's dividend amount is based on the earnings during the past five years.

"That's the advantage of the average," Storer said. "It smooths the good and the bad out."

Last year's dividend was $1,850, and the 2000 dividend topped out at $1,963.

Storer said he expects next year's dividend to be even lower than this year's due to the current fund earnings, but won't know how much until the end of this year.