The economics of this depend on how much money you are passing up by not retiring. In other words, for guys who will get a pension (former NW guys at Delta, not sure about United/Continental guys), you have to subtract the pension you could be collecting from the paycheck you are collecting to arrive at how much you are actually making by continuing to work. If you have a healthy 401k, IRA, and B plan as well, you might actually make more in retirement than by working 6-10 days a month. Food for thought and incentives to save so you can cut the cord from your “benevolent” employer sooner.