Honolulu – U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) will meet with seniors and veterans from 10:30 to 11 a.m. today at Moiliili Community Center Room 105 to help and encourage them to file a tax return needed to get $300 from the federal government ($600 for married couples). The center is located at 2535 S. King St.

According to the IRS, 35 percent of those eligible in Hawaii for so-called economic stimulus checks have not yet filed, the second largest percentage of any state behind Alaska, Akaka said. Those eligible include many disabled veterans, as well as seniors living primarily off their Social Security benefits.

In addition to Akaka, those invited to this morning's event were neighborhood seniors, on-site tax-aide volunteers, seniors from Moiliili Community Center, veterans organization leaders and community leaders from senior network.

Over 24,463 Hawaii Social Security and Veterans pension recipients still need to file a tax return to receive the stimulus check approved by Congress in January, according to a news release from Akaka's office. Normally, they do not file because they do not owe any income tax. But this year, they need to file a simple 1040A tax return to get the check from the federal government. The return only has to include name, address, dependents, income, direct deposit information and signatures. Then, the IRS will mail them $300 ($600 for couples), according to the news release.

"For those of you caring for our kupuna, please reach out to them and encourage them to file," Akaka said in the news release. "In these hard economic times, several hundred dollars will make a big difference to those in our community living on fixed incomes. It's not too late, the deadline is Oct. 15. After that, the money will be gone forever, so now is the time to file."