Really sorry to say that you are right. Loyalty nor capability and experience seems to be an asset if over the age of 50. The good side is the Government decided not to penalize 401K’s (20% tax) after the age of 55 if you decide to cash them out due to non employment.
Guess that they understood the problem years ago but failed to act - as Government does...
I thought you had to be 59 1/2 yrs old to avoid the penalty.