In Brief
By Andy Humm
You Can’t Take It With You
As of January 1 you can give away more of your money without triggering the IRS gift tax. In 2006 the tax-free amount you can donate to individuals goes to $12,000 per gift, up from $11,000 currently. A married couple can make gifts of twice that. You can always give more without paying tax as you go, but it counts against exemptions on your estate when you die.
The estate tax itself – or what its opponents call the “death tax” – is being phased out. The Republicans in Congress were set to eliminate it when Katrina struck and the time didn’t seem right for further depleting the treasury.
As of now, if you die from 2006 to 2008, the tax doesn’t kick in until the estate totals $2 million, up from $1.5 million in 2004-’05. The exemption jumps to $3.5 million in 2009 (when it will probably buy an average-size one-bedroom in Manhattan). The tax then disappears in 2010. However, if Congress does not extend the repeal, the exemption is restored at $1 million in 2011.
Most states based their own estate taxes on the federal rate. But with the phase-out, many — including New York State — are imposing estate taxes that are structured differently.
You Can Take It Off You
There is no fountain of youth, but some people are turning to a radical diet in the hope of significantly extending their life expectancy. They do it, essentially, by starving themselves, reducing calorie intake to from 1,200 to 1,800 daily, far below the 2,400 to 3,000 most of us consume, Michigan’s Grand Rapids Press reports.
There is evidence that mice placed on a “starvation” diet live an average of 30 percent longer, though they get so cranky that they are prone to biting researchers.
Humans on the diet have formed a Calorie Restriction Society under the motto “Fewer calories, more life.” On www.calorierestrictionsociety.com, they promote a book called The Longevity Diet, by Brian Delaney and Lisa Walford. The site offers a comprehensive overview of the approach, including plenty of “cautions and hazards” — everything from loss of bone density to possible depression. Many people on the diet do improve their nutrition by eating more whole foods.
You Can Take It Colder
There are advantages to turning the thermostat down, not least of which is fighting the high cost of fuel oil this winter. Dr. Maureen Ahmann, an Akron, Ohio, pediatrician, told the Akron Beacon Journal that keeping room temperature at a relatively hot 72 to 75 degrees can lead to everything from dry skin to nose bleeds, not to mention aggravating problems like asthma.
Dr. Scott Greene of the International Society of Biometeorology says that most people do not suffer ill health from living with an indoor temperature in the low 60s. But other researchers warn that people over 65 should keep the indoor temperature at 65 degrees minimum.
Home Safe Home
You probably missed it, but November 6-13 was the third annual National Aging in Place Week, when the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodelers Council reminded us to start modifying our homes now if we want to be able to stay in them as we get older. These guys recommend everything from installing simple grab bars in showers and adjusting countertop heights to placing the master bedroom on the first floor or installing private elevators.
The council says it has trained 800 of its remodelers how to evaluate the needs of homeowners who want to age in place, and to make the necessary modifications. For more information: www.seniorsafehome.com, www.ageinplace.org
Getting the Sleep You Need
There is a myth that we need less sleep as we grow older, but “elders should be able to sleep well every night and need the same seven to nine hours a night they did when they were younger,” the Chicago Sun Herald reports.
Dr. Phyllis Zee of the Sleep Disorders Program at Northwestern told the paper that doctors don’t deal with the lack of sleep many older people experience because the medics don’t know how to address it. “They’re worried about safety and addiction issues if they prescribe sleep medications, and particularly are concerned about patients suffering falls during the night,” she said.
A study by the International Longevity Center found that more than half of people over 50 aren’t getting seven hours of sleep a night and fewer than one third are “getting a good night’s sleep” every night. Forty percent said that “worrying” was the biggest obstacle to sleep.
Dr. Robert Butler of the center said that sleep “could be as important as nutrition, exercise, and social engagement to the health of older adults” and “needs to be addressed, diagnosed, and treated” by physicians.
Oh Say Can You Ski?
Proprietors of the nation’s ski slopes are engaged in a massive program of flattening their tracks in order to make them more accommodating for aging baby boomers, the Associated Press reports. “The percentage of skiers who are 45 or older climbed from 21 percent in 1997-’98 to 31 percent last season,” a survey by the National Ski Areas Association tells us.
“Grooming” machines can knock down the bumps and irregularities in a slope — even those designed for advanced skiing — making it easier for older schussers with slower reflexes.
Cholesterol Drop
Even though we’re getting fatter, average cholesterol levels are dropping and scientists credit statins — drugs like Lipotor, Zocor, and Pravachol — for our bodies’ decrease in bad cholesterol. A government study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 9.3 percent of U.S. adults use these medicines, up from 3.4 percent of the population in 1960.
What Else Is New?
In the run-up to the start of Medicare Part D, the new federal drug plan that commences January 1, researchers at the University of Minnesota and others with AARP have determined that the price of brand-name drugs rose more than 6 percent in the year ending June 30, 2005, versus a 1 percent increase for generic drugs. These increases mean that the program, already set to cost more than $720 billion over the next decade, could bite a lot more. A drug-industry spokesperson, Ken Johnson, insists that the increase in brand-name drugs was more like 3.4 percent.
The costlier the program, the more likely the government will seek to rein in the overall Medicare program on which older people depend.
Under-representation
Drugs are often not tested on the people who will need them most.
“The evidence that older people are being excluded from clinical research is widespread,” says an editorial in the British Medical Journal. “In 1997 … one-third of research papers published in four major medical journals excluded older people without justification.” There has been only a slight improvement since then.
Sometimes older subjects are excluded because they have too many other ailments and the researchers are worried about complex drug interactions. Others see them as a “vulnerable population and [thus] in need of protection from researchers.” And some just think that older subjects incur too high maintenance.
The editorial writers recommend that regulatory bodies and funders demand more inclusion of older people in studies.
