Mylan Inc. Chairman Milan Puskar will have free access to the corporate aircraft for his and his family's personal use for the rest of his life after he steps down from the board of the Cecil-based generic drug giant, according to a recent amendment to Mr. Puskar's retirement benefit package.

The amendment, disclosed in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month, also states that the company would reimburse Mr. Puskar for any income taxes he might owe on the benefit. The agreement limits his use to 70 hours of "wheels up" flying time per year.

Mr. Puskar, 73, is a co-founder of the company and served as chief executive officer from 1993 to 2002. He has been chairman of the board since 1993 and has not publicly announced plans to retire from the board.

A spokesman for the company did not return telephone calls or an e-mail this week seeking comment.

According to the Aug. 8 filing, the arrangement with Mr. Puskar was signed April 25, the day of Mylan's annual shareholder meeting in Summit, N.J. Mylan said the arrangement recognizes him for "continued commitment and service to the company."

Several corporate benefits experts said lifetime use of company aircraft was an unusual and generous benefit at a time when corporations have been scaling back such perks.

"I would be very surprised if shareholders did not raise questions about it," said Bruce Ellig, a New York-based adviser to corporate boards and the author of several books on executive compensation.

He called it a "lightning rod" for attacks by corporate governance activists and institutional shareholders who monitor executive compensation.

"It's a very expensive perk when you figure out the flying costs," Mr. Ellig said. "Certainly companies are not adding this type of [retirement] benefit; and where they have it, they are trying to get out from under it."

Tim Pollock, associate professor of management at Penn State University, said free use of a corporate jet after retirement was unusual but "not unheard of."

"It's a pretty generous perk," he said.

According to Mylan's proxy, Mr. Puskar is paid $250,000 annually as nonexecutive chairman. He also received stock options valued at $38,520 last year.

Since retiring as CEO in 2002, he was given the option of receiving $1 million per year for life or a lump sum equal to the net present value of such payments, according to a retirement agreement reached in September 2001.

Mr. Puskar is not among Mylan's five highest-paid executives. If he were, SEC regulations would have required Mylan to report the change to his retirement package within four days after it was approved, said Alison Wright, an attorney who specializes in executive compensation issues with Howard Rice, a San Francisco law firm. Plans covering directors can be disclosed in a filing for the quarter when the change occurred, she said.

Mylan lost $1.38 billion in the last three months of 2007 because of costs related to its acquisition of Merck Generics in October. This year, Mylan lost $449.9 million in the first quarter and $8.4 million in the second quarter.

The drug maker's shares closed yesterday at $12.92, off 31 cents. They are down 8 percent since Dec. 31 and down 17 percent over the last 12 months.