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Workers Turned Caregivers Lose More Than Wages

NPR
Published May 1, 2012 at 4:00 AM EDT
Cheryl Matheis is senior vice president for policy at the AARP.
Courtesy of Cheryl Matheis, AARP
Cheryl Matheis is senior vice president for policy at the AARP.

The average caregiver is 49 years old. Cheryl Matheis, senior vice president for policy at AARP, tells Steve Inskeep when a worker has to leave their job to care for a relative, they lose on average $325,000 in lifetime income — from lost wages, Social Security and pensions.

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