In accordance with the Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act, now codified at 49 USC Section 44729 (also known as the age 65 law), all pilots could be over age 60 as long as they had not attained age 65.
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In the U.S., there are no FAA age limits for pilots except for commercial airline pilots employed by airlines certificated under 14 CFR Part 121. These airlines cannot employ pilots after they reach the age of 65.
“Safety considerations drove the establishment of the current international standard of age 65 mandatory retirement, and raising the pilot retirement age would introduce additional risk into commercial aviation,” said Capt. Ed Sicher, the Allied Pilots Association's president.
Retirement values for a 35-year airline pilot career range from $1.8 million to over $3 million at the US major airlines. Retirement benefits are estimated at either 7.5 percent of the defined benefit program, if one is provided, or three percent of the final annual salary.
Passengers 75 and older can receive some form of expedited screening through risk-based intelligence-driven security that allows TSA to better focus resources on passengers who more likely pose a risk.
What Pilots Do After They Retire. The debate around when pilots should retire may continue, but whether it's at 65 or 68, there is life after flying. After retiring, many pilots pursue second careers as flight trainers or find other jobs in aviation.
Half of the pilots in this sample retiring at age 60 were expected to live past 83.8 years of age, compared to 77.4 years for the general population of 60 year-old white males in 1980.