BA pilots are contracted to age 55 (with a couple of exceptions on the old Dan Dare contract - although they're tied to EOG). Anyone who joins the company at any level of age or experience knows this.
Anyone who wishes to work beyond age 55 is free to do so elsewhere if they so desire, but I very much disagree that greed is the likely motivation. The difficulty within BA is that if the retirement age was increased to sixty, anyone junior to (yes, I know it's the seniority arguement again) anyone who chooses to remain for an additional five years, would find his or her command delayed by that same five years.
The only solution I can see is to leave existing contracts alone and hire any new recruits to age 60.
[CAN OF WORMS]
[/CAN OF WORMS]