Eva Coffey had planned to fill her retirement with sewing and good deeds. She would make uniforms for the school band and flags for its cheerleaders.

Instead, the 60-year old spent last week driving a school bus and is worrying about how she will replace her $17.50-an-hour wage when that work dries up in the summer. "I'm not going to retire. Can't afford it," she says, sipping soup in a Chinese noodle joint in Springfield, Virginia. "You still have to put the food on the table and the gas in the car."