https://flightsafety.org/fsd/fsd_jun92.pdf

 

I wouldn't pay too much attention to this, it's 30+ years old and the source data older still. That was the generation which had steak and eggs for breakfast, pastrami for lunch, more steak and potatoes for dinner, and washed it all down with a bottle of bourbon while smoking a stogie. And the last time they exercised was in the Air Corps back in the Big One.

Boomers, and especially Gen X and later, live quite different lifestyles today, as a demographic.

I do think there are some aspects of our jobs which have detrimental health affects, but I think the net benefit of a high-income lifestyle offsets that.

 

I want to do a soft retirement where I fly maybe 2-3 trips per quarter as an FO for the last 5 years or so.

 

Sounds like FedEx is the place for you.

Retire with pension at 60.

Vacation is also pretty excellent.

 

That's what I'd like to do NOW. XD

 

Some of the few pilots who will be healthy enough to fly past 65 and also choose to fly past 65 will have the seniority to do just that. Which diminishes their effect on flying needs.
Another reason I don't think this is the boogyman it's made out to be.

I feel I have to say this each time I make a post like this but I'm not for increasing the age. There's just so many other things I'm concerned about, this just isn't on the radar for me. With almost half the pilots out there out on disability by 65, the absolute worst case is a year of stagnation in movement and I think there are so many other factors at play here to swallow up that year where no one even notices a difference.
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I don't want to burst your bubble, but those aches and pains start a lot earlier than 67.

Whether one can afford to retire sooner is another matter.

There's also the issue of one's longevity, once one retires. If one could retire and have the same sense of purpose and the same income, it might be one thing, but retirement is not that way.

I've seen far too many who stopped flying and went downhill soon thereafter; the reason for waking up every morning was no longer there, and when one has spent a lifetime living for a purpose and that purpose is gone, the effect is often not a positive one. Widebody international captain to walmart greeter isn't necessarily a good look, nor a benefit to the self.

 

To summarize and put this in context...

Educated upper-class professionals live longer than the average.

Also the average for a new-born might be 77, but the average for someone who makes it to 65 or 67 in good health (aka an airline pilot) is going to be much higher than the average for a new-born, well past 80 I'm sure.

Bear in mind that many white-collar professionals work well past 65 often closer to 80 or beyond. Right off the bat, my Dad, uncle, neighbor all still work part time, and all are 80-ish plus or minus a couple years. All are post-grad professionals. Of course some professions are harder physically than others, probably not too many 80 y/o plumbers or auto mechanics but our job isn't quite that taxing on the old bod either (we do need some mental acuity though).

Years ago it was a known thing that retired Navy CPOs would often die within three years on average... and most of them retired between age 40-50! Their officer contemporaries OTH would retire later; both groups served 20-30 years but the officers' clocks started after college. The officers would then go on to live to a ripe old age like other white collar folks. The difference was lifestyle, alcohol, and purpose... back then the enlisted folks tended to stay sober on the ship, but binge-party when ashore... upon retirement, the CPOs were ashore, so they behaved accordingly. They also tended to have an outlook that retirement involved no work, where officers tended to get a new job or even career. This was many years ago, officers typically had family but enlisted pay and benefits were not as conducive to supporting a family so they were more likely to remain professional bachelors.

Point being your life trajectory in retirement depends very much on your lifestyle choices, and I think on having a purpose which gets you off the couch. For many folks that can be travel, hobby, etc but some need to work with other folks to accomplish some task or purpose. That doesn't have to be a job per se, could be volunteer work, organized hobbies like fixing old airplanes, etc.

In the real world, there's almost no limit on working to age 70. With our profession the medical exam covers most of the sudden incapacitation risk it does increase with age though), and the sim covers most of the mental acuity. The only thing we're not really evaluated on is circadian disruption... that gets harder the older you get. Most folks probably self-select though... if it bothers them they bid avoid it or just hang it up. You could actually test for tolerance to circadian disruption readily enough by doing recurrent sim in this format for those 60+:

Classroom: 0800-1600
Break: 1600-0200
Sim: 0200-0800

Implementing that would probably get you a few extra voluntary retirements right away! You would not need to do this if you airline flying doesn't include redeye or long-haul ops.

 

I'm not a fan of this argument either. Some pro 67 pilots are saying, "Don't worry, I won't affect your seniority. I plan on going on LTD for the last 2 years." Who do they think pays for that? Age 67 is really just code for a larger percentage of our pilots on the highest-paid equipment being a financial drain for even longer. No thanks.

That's why people need to develop hobbies, social connections, and life goals outside of work. If you are over 50 and are worried that your only reason for waking up is to fly tomorrow's Tulsa turn, now is the time to fix that.

 

No it doesn't! I have gotten a first-class medical in a matter of seconds. As soon as the credit card charge went through, the doctor handed it to me. For some of these doctors, it's a money-printing machine. The more time they spend evaluating you, the less appointments they can per day. A quick search on this forum shows plenty of threads of people asking for "pilot-friendly" AMEs.