Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
When he was President, he advocated the end to mandatory retirement ages. The reasoning seemed to be that if he could be old and senile and still be President, then anyone of any age should be legally entitled to do any job and not subject to mandatory retirement. IIRC pilots and a few other jobs are exempt from the rule. [I'm not sure whether it's a law, regulation, or executive order.]
Actually blame the airlines. They terminated pension contributions in bankruptcy right after 9-11-01. Also many ended medical benefits in retirement as well. Some continue to fly because they are healthy enough and like the job. Mandatory, not in the United States.