Seniors are going back to work in order to pay taxes. In Boulder County, Colo., a tax work-off program that started in 1986 for residents over 60 now has about 250 applicants for fewer than 100 openings.

The seniors do landscaping, gather climate data, clip newspapers and staff the courthouse information booths to make extra money to pay their taxes. Many stay as volunteers after paying off their taxes.

In Concord, Mass., about 10 seniors get $8.50 an hour to work at research, data entry and grounds-keeping. A program started in 1999 involves seniors in community work

From Colorado to South Carolina older Americans are working well beyond their retirement, The Associated Press reported, adding a similar program is being proposed in Greenburgh, New York.

The town (population: 90,000) is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes.

The pilot program proposed for next year would let them work off $500 or so a year, said Town Supervisor Paul Feiner.