Your Costco ID is not valid for TSA entry
In a post on their official Facebook page, TSA shared:
Hawaiʻi residents: Get your REAL ID before May 7
'We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person, but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a REAL ID because it absolutely does not.'
This statement comes after a lot of confusion from travelers, some of whom thought their Costco card, which has a gold star on it, would count as a REAL ID. Some of those who engaged with the TSA post even joked online, saying things like 'at least it has a STAR on it' or 'So, you're saying we should bring you a chicken?'
But the truth is, a REAL ID is a special kind of ID that meets strict government standards. The REAL ID Act was passed in 2005, and it has taken nearly 20 years for all states to issue these IDs.If you want to fly domestically, you'll need either a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, a state-issued ID or another acceptable form of ID like a passport.
You can get a REAL ID by visiting your state's driver's license office and providing documents like your full name, birth date, Social Security number, proof of address and legal status.
You can click to learn more about state issued identification cards and for information on obtaining a Hawaii State driver's license.
Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8
So, while Costco cards are great for shopping, they won't help you board your flight. Make sure you have the proper ID next time you travel!
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
How to outfox financial scammers
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Instead, if you're concerned it may be legitimate, call the actual entity the person contacting you claims to be from and do so by looking up that entity's real number and website yourself. 'Stop and verify. If it feels urgent, if they're rushing you and creating alarm, and you weren't expecting that contact, go directly to the company or agency that they're claiming to be and check it out,' Fletcher said. Never move money on demand. If you do end up engaging, a clear sign something is wrong is that you're told you have to move money fast. You may be told you have to transfer money out of an account that has been compromised in order to 'protect it.' Or to send money to get yourself out of some sort of (fake) trouble. No legitimate business, government agency or law enforcement entity would require this. Never pay money for the promise of getting more money. Anything financial that sounds too good to be true usually is. And that's especially the case when you're being told you need to pay something upfront to get something desirable in return (e.g. a commission, a job, prize winnings, etc.) Don't assume you're too smart to be duped. A scammer can catch anyone at a particularly vulnerable moment. For example, you might already be in a heightened emotional state when you get a call or text; or the focus of the scam may pertain to something you were just dealing with – e.g., you may have recently driven through a number of tolls when a scammer sends you a text about unpaid tolls. 'For each of us there is a scam that can get us at just the wrong moment,' Fletcher said. 'The scammer hijacks your ability to think things through clearly.' Make liberal use of the 'Block Caller' and 'Report Junk' functions on your phone: Getting a call or voicemail from a number you don't recognize should be blocked. The same goes for unsolicited texts and social media messages. And, the FTC warns, don't necessarily trust your caller ID function either, as scammers have been known to 'spoof' it – meaning they can falsify the information sent to your caller ID display. It can happen to anyone. If it happens to you, take steps to minimize your losses and help stop the scammers from victimizing others. Here is an FTC resource page that offers steps you can take if you think you paid a scammer or if the scammer has access to your personal information or to your computer. But, generally speaking you'll want to let your bank and/or other relevant entities such as the credit bureaus or gift card issuers know immediately. To minimize your losses, 'Time is of the essence,' Fletcher said. You also might want to consult a consumer law attorney who specializes in consumer rights and consumer fraud to see what your next best steps are. Then report your scam to the FTC at To prevent others from falling prey to the same type of scam, share your story with people you know. 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Yahoo
an hour ago
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Social Security's 2026 COLA Forecast Was Just Updated. Here's How Much Benefits Could Increase and Why It Might Not Be Enough.
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The agency determines the percentage increase (if any) of the average CPI-W during the third quarter of the current year compared to the average CPI-W during the third quarter of the previous year. In July, the CPI-W rose 2.5% year over year. If this rate of increase remains steady, the 2026 COLA would be 2.5%, exactly the same as the benefit increase retirees received this year. However, TSCL doesn't think the CPI-W rate of growth will remain the same. The nonprofit seniors advocacy group uses a statistical model that includes inflation, interest rate, and unemployment data to estimate the next COLA. The organization issues a new COLA prediction each month. Its estimated COLA has steadily risen over the past three months as inflation has inched higher. In May, TSCL projected that the 2026 Social Security COLA would be 2.5%. Its announced an estimated COLA in June of 2.6%. TSCL's latest COLA forecast, released last week, was 2.7%. Not enough? 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Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Join Stock Advisor to learn more about these Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Social Security's 2026 COLA Forecast Was Just Updated. Here's How Much Benefits Could Increase and Why It Might Not Be Enough. was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Do Americans have personal Social Security accounts? Answers here.
American workers pay taxes into a Social Security 'trust fund.' The more you earn now, the more you will reap later in retirement benefits. You can monitor your progress in a government account called 'my Social Security.' Those facts might lead some people to believe that everyone has a personal Social Security fund, money earmarked just for them. Roughly one in four Americans thinks exactly that, according to a new survey from the libertarian Cato Institute. The poll asked respondents how Social Security is funded. Only 45% of respondents chose the correct answer: 'My taxes pay for current retirees, and future workers will pay my benefits.' How does Social Security work? Most of us don't know. Confusion runs rampant on the basic workings of Social Security, according to recent surveys from Cato and AARP. Both polls coincide with Social Security's 90th anniversary, marked on August 15. In the Cato survey, released August 7, only 9% of Americans correctly identified the maximum annual Social Security benefit, which exceeds $60,000, on a multiple-choice list. Only one-quarter correctly guessed the average annual benefit, which falls between $20,000 and $30,000. The AARP survey, released in July, found that three-quarters of Americans believe they are informed about how Social Security works. But are they? In that survey, only 40% of Americans knew the earliest age you can claim Social Security: 62. Only 24% knew the claiming age when your benefit check maxes out: 70. 'When we started asking questions, it was obvious people aren't as knowledgeable as they think they are,' said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP. Pay as you go: How Social Security really operates Here's how Social Security actually works: A portion of your income goes into a pair of Social Security trust funds, one for retirement, the other for disability. Social Security benefits are paid from those funds. Social Security is known as a 'pay as you go' program, which means that benefits paid to today's retirees are mostly collected from current workers. In other words, the Social Security benefit you receive is not money you earned. In that sense, the term 'trust fund' might be a little misleading. 'The terminology, alone, confuses things,' said Robert Brokamp, a senior retirement adviser at The Motley Fool. Relentless messaging on Social Security, from politicians and personal finance websites, might suggest workers are socking away their own money to pay for their eventual retirement. It is true that how much you earn determines the size of your eventual benefit checks. The money in those checks, however, will come mostly from future workers. 'People who don't understand the way it works think that they have been contributing to their Social Security benefits through their paychecks,' said Caleb Silver, editor-in-chief of Investopedia, the financial journalism site. 'It's definitely not sitting in an account with your name on it,' he said. 'It's sitting in an account with everyone's name on it.' Social Security faces a fiscal cliff Through most of its history, the Social Security program collected more money than it paid out, yielding a reserve that totaled $2.7 trillion at the end of 2024. Yet, as America ages, the reserve is dwindling. The latest projections show Social Security will face a shortfall by 2034. When the reserves run out, the federal agency will have sufficient funds to pay only about 81% of full benefits, according to AARP. Most Americans know that. In the Cato poll, 79% of working-age adults said they don't believe they will receive full benefits when they retire. Roughly one in 10 expect no benefits at all. The AARP poll, too, found Americans deeply pessimistic about the future of Social Security. More than one third of respondents said they believe that when the reserves are gone, benefit payments will cease. American workers have been predicting Social Security's demise for years. AARP has polled Americans about the federal program for four decades. Faith has never run high. 'People back in 1985 didn't have confidence Social Security was going to be there for them,' Sweeney said. 'And what's interesting is, that number has been consistent.' Social Security has faced insolvency before Social Security has faced insolvency before. At one point in the early 1980s, amid economic downturns, program trustees predicted a shortfall was months away. In 1983, policymakers fixed Social Security by collecting new taxes and gradually raising the full retirement age, among other changes. Congress will have similar options to shore up Social Security between now and 2034. Policymakers could choose to collect more Social Security taxes. They could again raise the retirement age, asking Americans to wait longer to collect larger benefit checks. Or they could borrow the money. 'I think that Congress will definitely do something to avoid reducing benefits,' said Emily Ekins, vice president and director of polling at Cato. 'I don't think they're just going to allow a quarter in benefits to be cut.' But how might Congress fix the program? Raise taxes, borrow money, or reduce benefits? Cato posed that question in its survey. The largest share of Americans, 37%, said they would favor higher taxes. Slightly fewer, 35%, favored borrowing the funds. Only 28% said they'd prefer reduced benefits. What if every Social Security check was $1,800? There are more radical solutions. Congress could abandon its complex benefit formulas in favor of a flat monthly check, the same amount for everyone: say, around $1,800. In the Cato survey, 38% of respondents said they would support a flat benefit as an alternative to tax hikes or program cuts. Clearly, it's not for everyone. 'A really foundational part of Social Security is, the more you pay in, the more you get out,' said Sweeney of AARP. 'And I think that's really important to the way the program is structured.'
