ABSTRACTThe repeal of mandatory retirement laws will result in new pressures on organizations to motivate and satisfy those managers who have reached their ceiling in the organization. This study compares the satisfaction and motivation (in terms of performance‐reward instrumentalities) of a group of plateaued and non‐plateaued managers. This was done both with and without controlling for the managers age. Age, rather than plateauing, seemed to be implicated in any observed differences. We found that older managers reported lower satisfaction with future organizational rewards and see stronger instrumentalities for mentoring type activities then do their younger colleag