An individual should be allowed to work until he is no longer fit to do so. I don't see Doctors, Dentists, Attorneys or other professional employees having to stop at a fixed age, nor would they be very impressed if someone suggested it. Regardless of the 'whining' of others (particularly a certain eloquent Canadian on this thread), discrimination is not justifiable. It is worth mentioning that the same 'young' pilots who insultingly comment in the negative will be the same 'old' pilots arguing for this very issue when they get a bit older.... It is a transparant arguement from both groups,and neither has a 'moral' claim on the answer. The ONLY answer is that you should not force someone out of their career based solely on age. BTW, i'm a long way from retirement, but think that my Dad at age 59 should be able to continue on for a few more years yet....as he still competes in marathons every month..!!