KaptinZZ ,it may not be greed that keeps us old farts going. Some of us do it because we have been screwed out of several fortunes by several wives. Some of us do it because we continue to be screwed out of fortunes by never-do-well kids (bad genes obviously inherited from the ex-wives). Either way, our government won't provide for us in our dotage, so we keep on being self-sufficient for as long as we can.
And some - of which I am one - continue in the industry on the basis of 'use it or lose it', by which I mean using our brains for something a bit more challenging than improving golf handicaps or discovering a better way to bait a fish-hook. We are not hogging any seats to the detriment of any younger wannabes. In case you hadn't noticed, there is an experience shortage right now. The wannabes think they have a right to a command in 18 months. Bollocks - five years is a fair time in any complex apprenticeship, by which time this 'greedy' generation of baby boomers will be mostly gone anyway.
Agreed about all the b.s. with sim checks, management, hosties and the rest of the hassles of line flying. But there's other stuff some of us can contribute, like training, consulting or even (heaven forbid) management, or anything related that our diverse aviation backgrounds may suit us to. And agreed that some old guys lose the ability to keep up with all these checks, back-of-clock duties etc. The trick is to know when your time has come and bow out gracefully.
If you have the money to indulge a rich, busy and fulfilling retirement at a relatively early age, good luck to you. But many early-age retirees appear to be borderline brain-dead after a few years.