This is the case whenever your expected salary gets higher than younger, cheaper replacements are willing to accept. This isn't a problem for people that have made more of their younger years, since the positions they're applying for are high enough leverage positions to justify the higher salary ask and younger workers are simply not qualified to apply.

I see this all the time in applicants. They've spent 15-20 years on the job and have less than 5 years of useful experience. The rest is stagnation where they haven't grown their skills. And yet they expect to be paid as if they've got 15-20 years of useful experience. That's why answering the salary question derails the negotiation. There may be an odd recruiter that is willing to accept the premise that an older worker is able to complete the job's tasks at enough above the acceptable level to justify the increase in cost. But most will opt for a younger worker willing to do an acceptable job.