SLN January

Seven Lakes News January Edition Page C 5
The Secret To Super Agers
What will you be like in your 80s?
Living independently, robust in body
and mind, with a wide social circle?
Manage that and you will be a superager.
It is a worthy aspiration, but the
reality is rather different for most of us.
Although we are living longer,
more of those extra years are
being spent in ill health, often
with multiple chronic conditions.
Of the 65 million people in the UK,
8.45 million are projected to live
to 100, according to analysis from
the Offi ce for National Statistics.
That’s around one in eight of the
population and a timely reminder
that many of us will spend
a third of our lives in old age.
Aging is a global issue - the number
of people aged 65 and older is projected
to almost triple to 1.5 billion
by 2050.
Let’s start with Irene.
She’s 84 and the fastest woman
on earth for her age. Irene has
been breaking world records in
Masters athletics for four decades.
She has the poise and physique
of someone in their prime and
makes age look like an irrelevance.
Her philosophy is simple: “A quitter
never wins, and a winner never
quits - and I want to be a winner.”
Being a winner involves grit, determination
and relentless effort.
I met Irene and her coach Alan
Kolling at Chabot College, near
San Francisco, where they train
three or four times a week.
Then there are the gym sessions,
tennis and bowling
- Irene is on the go all day.
“You gotta use it, or you lose
it,” she says with a smile.
Her only period of ill-health was
self infl icted - when she dropped
a weight on her toe in the gym.
As with all the super agers I’ve
met, Irene retains a positive attitude
- her horizons have not
narrowed as she has aged.
She is socially connected; as
well as all the people she meets
through sport, Irene volunteers
in her local community.
Aging well is about exercising
the mind as well as the body.
It’s thought that one in three cases
of dementia could be prevented
if more people looked after
their brain health throughout life.
I joined a French literature class at
the Alliance Francaise in Berkeley,
across the bay from San Francisco.
All the students were in their 70s,
and retained the same curiosity
and positive attitude which seem
to be hallmarks of super-agers.
Pamela Blair, 76, a retired psychologist,
told me: “I love the French
language and its literature. But
I’m also here to exercise my mind
- my mother had Alzheimer’s”.
Image caption The Buck Institute
for Research on Aging.
What is it that cancer, heart disease,
stroke, dementia and osteoarthritis
all have in common? The
fact that your chances of getting
any of them increase as you age.
Prof Judy Campisi, one of the lead
scientists at the Buck Institute “It’s
not a coincidence that all these
diseases occur at the same time
- we think there are basic aging
processes that cause all of them.”
Like others at the Buck Institute, Prof
Campisi is convinced that science will
be able to help us age more healthily.
She said: “We predict there will be
drugs that will treat aging, and as a
consequence we will be able to extend
health span, the years of healthy life.
“This would mean people could look
forward to the last decade of life
being vibrant and engaged - their
brains and bodies working optimally.”
By: F. Walsh
Reverse Mortgage for Purchase
JIM GARRISON
YOUR SEVEN LAKES MORTGAGE SPECIALIST
Buying a home with a Reverse Mortgage or Home Equity Conversion Mortgage
(HECM) for Purchase allows seniors over the age of 62 the ability to
buy a primary residence without incurring an additional monthly payment.
With a Purchase HECM, a senior citizen can fi nance up to 40-50% of the
purchase price. The maximum loan amount is dependent on the age of
the youngest borrower. Debt-to-income ratios and credit scores are not
factored into qualifying for this loan product. Gifts are permitted, however
sellers are prohibited from paying any closing costs. Interest is compounded
on a reverse mortgage and cannot be deducted from income taxes
unless interest payments have actually been made.
www.7LakesRX.com
Once you obtain a Reverse Mortgage, there are NO requirements to sell
the home until BOTH spouses move out for 12 consecutive months. The
owner’s estate is never liable for any repayment of the loan, even if the
property sells for less than the outstanding loan balance. If the home sells
for more than the loan amount the excess proceeds are retained by the estate.
Prior to writing a purchase contract the buyers are required to attend
counseling to review the pros and cons of obtaining a reverse mortgage.
Initial loan amounts up to $679,650 are available for a HECM for Purchase.
For Information
Call
Jim
910-824-4800