PP,
The sad point is retired military pilots have readily accepted lesser wages and were able and happy to do so because of that pension.
The truth is civilian pilot wages have and do suffer from that.
So many of my countrymen did just that as they saw a civilian flying job to be both a way of topping off that pension but also as a way of using up some of the free time they suddenly themselves confronted with.
I never could understand why they were so ready to work for part time wages on a full time job?
The net effect was the young civvie pilot trying to raise a family and save for the future was ham stringed by that practice.