There are those who say Delta and Northwest may go the same route. The government-run pension fund pays out a maximum of $45,000 a year, but that's for people who retire at age 65. For those who retire at age 60, including airline pilots, the payout is only around $28,000 a year.ommercial airline pilots must retire at age 60. That hasn't been a problem in the past because pilots had generous pensions. But with several of the major airlines in bankruptcy, pilots are seeing their pensions reduced and some are fighting mandatory retirement.
To determine how much retired pay you may be eligible to receive, the first step is to calculate the number of equivalent years of service. The formula for computing equivalent years of service for Reserve retired pay at age 60 is fairly simple: Total number of Creditable Retirement Points, divided by 360.
To be eligible to retire, you must amass a minimum number of 50 points in 20 separate years. 1  Give yourself 15 points for membership in a Guard or reserve unit. 2  Count up the number of unit training assemblies you attended for each year of service. 3  Award yourself one point for each day of active duty, or ADT (active duty for training).