Airline Pilots' Peak Pay Masks Volatile Income and Retirement Tax Risks

Airline pilots can earn up to $100,000 in a single month during busy periods, but that pay swings based on seniority, aircraft type, schedule and hourly rate, per the Wall Street Journal. Roughly 4,300 pilots hit the FAA's mandatory retirement age of 65 each year through 2042, often leaving with a combined pension, 401(k) and brokerage assets worth millions, all becoming taxable around the same time.