CBS MoneyWatch has some great retirement help!  Steve Vernon has a 16-week course on retirement planning. Most of us do very little planning for this major event...it's a big decison, so look at this helpful series of retirement articles especially "Can You Work While Collecting Social Security?" 

The earnings test

So can you work while collecting Social Security benefits? If you're receiving Social Security income before the year you attain your Full Retirement Age (FRA, which is currently age 66 for most people), your Social Security income might be reduced by the earnings test. If your wages or self-employment income exceed a certain threshold -- $15,120 per year in 2013 -- then your Social Security income is reduced by $1 for every $2 of earnings over the threshold.

 (For a detailed explanation of the earnings test, here's a pamphlet from the Social Security Administration.)