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Page 14 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, MAy 27, 2022 Sa nir Sa a y Senior Seni by Jim Miller How to Start a Walking Program and Stay Motivated Dear Savvy Senior, My doctor recently suggested I start a walking program to help get my weight and blood pressure under control, but I’ve never exercised much and am 66. Can you recommend some tips? Hate to Exercise Dear Hate, You should follow your doctor’s orders. Years of research have shown that walking may be the single best exercise you can do to improve your health as you age. It burns calories, which will help you lose weight, builds endurance, enhances muscle tone and it doesn’t pound your joints. It also helps improve or prevent many age-related health problems including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, dementia and even depression. But walking is not only good for what ails you. It’s also one of the easiest and most convenient exercises you can do and is completely free. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes that fi t well and a little desire. Here are some things you should know to help get you started and stay motivated. Getting Started Start out slow if you need to. For many people this means head out the door, walk for 10 minutes, and walk back. Do it every day for a week. If that seems easy, add five minutes to your walks the next week and keep adding five minutes until you are walking as long as you desire. It’s also a smart idea to start and fi nish your walk with a few simple warm up and cool down stretches. Stretching will make you feel better and help prevent injury. Most fitness professionals recommend walking about 30 minutes, five or more days a week. For optimal health benefi ts aim for 10,000 steps per day, which is the equivalent of about fi ve miles. Your walking pace is also important. While strolling around the park or neighborhood at an easy pace is good for you, a brisker pace that has you breathing heavily, but you are still able to carry on a conversation, provides better health, fitness and weight loss benefits. Staying Motivated While starting a walking program takes initiative, sticking with it takes commitment. Here are some tips to help you stay motivated: Find a walking buddy: Having a friend to walk with can provide motivation and support along with companionship. Wear a fitness tracker or pedometer: These devices measure how far you’ve walked in steps and miles, providing motivation by spurring you to meet a particular goal and showing you if you’ve met it. Or, if you use a smartphone there are free pedometer apps you can download like MyPacer.com, Google.com/ fit or Accupedo.com. Join a walking club: To fi nd one in your community, call your nearby medical center, mall, health club, senior center, running shoe stores or Area Agency on Aging to see if they sponsor or know of any clubs or groups. Or try MeetUp.com or the American Volkssport Association (AVA.org), to search for non-competitive walking clubs in your area, or start one. Keep a journal: Use it to keep track of your walking minutes, steps, or mileage and total it up at the end of each week to see how you’re progressing. There are also free apps like MapMyWalk. com and Walkmeter.com that use GPS to map your walk and measure your distance and time, which is fun and motivating. Have a backup plan: If bad weather, allergies or other factors limit your outdoor walking, have a backup plan like walking at your local mall, buying a home treadmill or joining a health club. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. nior ior Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen GET FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST – Join more than 22,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList— the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in Massachusetts politics, policy, media and infl uence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced writers Keith Regan and Matt Murphy who introduce each article in their own clever and inimitable way. MASSterlist will be e-mailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening in the blood sport of Bay State politics. For more information and to get your free subscription, go to: https:// lp.constantcontactpages.com/ su/aPTLucK THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from the week of May 1620. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week. MARIJUANA LAWS (H 4791) House 155-0, approved a bill that makes changes in the cannabis industry including a section that would require the state to put its tax and licensing revenue from the sales of marijuana revenue into a newly created Social Equity Trust Fund to provide grants and loans, including forgivable and no-interest loans, designed to assist entrepreneurs and businesses from communities disproportionately harmed by the decades of marijuana prohibition. The measure would also allow municipalities to vote by a local referendum or through a vote of the municipal government for social consumption of marijuana to take place in their community. The Senate has already approved its own version of the bill and a House-Senate conference committee will likely hammer out a compromise version. Supporters explained that opening an average cannabis retail shop can require up to $1.5 million. They noted that since federal cannabis laws prevent these businesses from accessing traditional bank loans, lack of capital can pose an inBackdoor Roth Ira’s long as the Roth IRA account has been established for at least fi ve years. If you are single, for calenW hen the House Ways and Means Committee in May of 2021 passed Secure 2.0, the Securing a Strong Retirement Act, it appeared that this bill would easily pass the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. It the bill were to have passed, that would have been the end of the Backdoor Roth IRA. A backdoor Roth IRA is when high income earners, who otherwise are not able to contribute to a Roth IRA, instead contribute to a non-deductible Traditional IRA. Subsequently, he or she will then convert the non-deductible Traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. At the time of conversion, the only income taxes to be paid would be if there were earnings in the Traditional IRA account prior to the conversion. Only the earnings would be taxed. The Roth IRA owner does not have to take out any required minimum distributions upon reaching the age of 72. No income taxes will have to be paid on future earnings so dar year 2022, your ability to contribute to a Roth IRA is phased out completely once your modifi ed adjusted gross income reaches $144,000. For a married person fi ling jointly, the income fi gure for the phase out is $214,000. Secure 1.0 did away with the stretch IRA, which allowed non-spouse beneficiaries of IRA’s to “stretch” the required minimum distributions over his or her life expectancy. Under current law, the IRA account must be withdrawn within a ten- year period. For certain Trust benefi ciaries, the IRA account must be taken over a fi ve-year period. Many benefi ciaries must also begin withdrawing monies in the benefi ciary IRA account starting in year one and then in each of the next nine years. With Roth IRA’s, benefi ciaries are not required to withdraw monies in years one through nine. They must, however, withdraw the entire account out by the end of the tenth year. However, that means that the Roth IRA benefi ciary has the luxury of having that account grow tax free for the entire ten- year period. Even if Congress does away with the backdoor Roth IRA, the legislation would only affect future conversions. So, for now, it seems to still be a great planning idea. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, registered investment advisor, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation. surmountable barrier. They noted that less than 20 (6 percent) of the 346 marijuana businesses are connected to participants in the Cannabis Control Commission’s current social equity program or economic empowerment entrepreneurs. “This legislation builds upon the House’s multi-session efforts to create a fair and successful cannabis industry, fostering equitable opportunities to those disproportionately impacted by the systemic racism of historic drug policy,” said Speaker of the House Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). “With this legislation, the House addresses ongoing concerns that have only become more pronounced with the growth of the cannabis industry, such as the host community agreement process and systemic barriers for minority-owned businesses to enter the cannabis market.” “This legislation continues to build on the strives we have made in the cannabis industry to ensure equitable access for all Massachusetts residents, particularly those who have been disadvantaged by marijuana prohibition and enforcement,” said Rep. Dan Donahue (D-Worcester), House Chairman of the Committee on Cannabis Policy. “This bill lays out a clear and fair approach to expungement for prior marijuana convictions that ensures the best interest of justice is served by providing a real and eff ective avenue for many to put their past behind them.” BEACON | SEE PAGE 24

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