Finish strong in the retirement homestretch.

Even if you saved diligently through your career, you'll probably want to adjust your strategy as you take the last lap before retirement. The final years of your career can give you time to refine your approach, improve your position and catch up on savings.

Here are four tweaks for a strong finish on your retirement homestretch.

1. Sharpen your vision.

Hopefully, you started putting money away in your younger years. Perhaps you knew you should be saving consistently for your retirement goals, but you probably had only a vague idea of what those goals were. Now, years later, the picture should be clearer. Try to envision what the coming decades look like. Do you want to work part time and continue to generate income? Do you want to travel, golf every day or own a summer home? Each of these options has a different price tag. It's also a good time to review some of the retirement risks you may face.

2. Re-examine your expenses.

You can base this on your current budget, but take special note of the changes that come when you break away from a full-time job. On the plus side, you may collect Social Security or a pension. Also be aware that some costs may increase. If you have more time on your hands, your new leisure activities could put a dent in your pocketbook.

3. Make up ground.

The last decade or so of your working career is a great time to boost your retirement cushion. These tend to be peak earning years, so put those extra dollars to work. Understand your employer provided retirement benefits. Also build up a cash reserve to help you weather the changes in your income stream. While having enough in your emergency fund to cover three to six months of anticipated expenses is sufficient earlier in your career, you may want to expand that to 12 months or more as you position yourself for retirement.

4. Cut your financial obligations.

Paying down your debt and limiting your financial burdens are important steps in planning for retirement. If you can pay off your house, car and other significant debts before you retire, then you'll have more flexibility and fewer worries when your income stream is reduced.

In the race toward retirement, plan ahead to help make sure you are ready.

5. Have a retirement income plan.

For many folks, their Social Security benefits and pensions may not be enough to cover all retirement expenses. At some point, with whatever you have saved for retirement, you'll need to have a plan on how to turn it into income. There's no "magic bullet" or one size fits all solution, so it's important to have your own retirement income plan.