The retirement thing wasn't just a railroad practice. Brother in law had it done to him by National Semiconductor back when there was such a company. The company advertised an attractive pension when hiring, but nobody outside the C Suite was allowed to vest it. He was fired a month before vesting, as was everybody else if they didn't agree to leave "voluntarily." But there was one good thing about it: if you were fired there was no way to attach a non-compete clause. So he ended up working for a competitor Back East for another full career.