Dropping out - how does it affect you later in life?

There's been a lot of talk about dropping out lately. However, one thing I've been seeing is people talking about how it sucks to be 30-40 and not have a degree and have to make excuses for it.

I'm surprised at this. If you have 10-15 years of programming experience, why would anyone still care if you have a degree? To me, it would seem like it would matter less as you got older.

Can anyone comment or provide insight? Thanks.