Originally Posted by
scottm
Right now we are seeing fairly high numbers of pilots staying to 65. The new retirement systems don't reward staying like they used to, the incentive to stay is that pilots can't afford to start drawing down their 401k funds, and can't afford the expensive medical plans in retirement. At my airline you lose retirement benefit value by staying past 60, but many still can't afford to leave.
It's awfully hard to walk away from an extra $1.5-2.0 million over 5 years (salary and overtime plus 401(k) contributions), especially with current contracts. My own unscientific survey indicates that the cost of medical insurance is the biggest reason guys are staying. If they airlines allowed them to stay in the plan until 65, or even 67, folks would be much more likely to jump ship early.