“Saving For Retirement—How’s That Working Out For You?” sounds like a hip, snarky way of asking someone how their nest egg is coming along. But actually, it’s the title of a new investor advisory put out today by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to commemorate National Save for Retirement Week (October 16 - 21).

Finra’s basic message is there’s no better time than the present “to start saving in earnest, to keep on growing your nest egg or to make some positive adjustments to your existing retirement savings game plan,” according to the new alert, which  advises investors to start saving specifically for retirement, give themselves annual savings pay raises, continue saving past IRS limits.

Finra also tells investors to “evaluate investor fees” which cost consumers some $33 billion last year.

While it is never too late to start saving for retirement, the track record of many people closing in on retirement age or already there provides a cautionary tale for younger investors. Nearly 30 percent of households headed by someone 55 or older have neither a pension nor any retirement savings, according to a 2015 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Even people who manage to save for retirement often face a grim reality: Among people between 55 and 64 who have retirement accounts, the median value of those accounts is just over $120,000, according to the Federal Reserve.

And at a time when 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every day, Social Security benefits have lost about a third of their purchasing power since 2000.

Polls show that most older people are more worried about running out of money than dying. One in five people have no savings, and millions retire with nothing in the bank.

While this may not reflect the portfolios of most investment advisor clients, even astute investors can benefit from a bottom line discussion, especially as seniors contemplate major financial decisions such as helping adult kids or purchasing second homes, which can drain their retirement accounts. Clients’ adult kids, millennials and Gen X and Y clients can certainly benefit from a discussion of retirement shortfalls and an action plan to address them.

Finra’s common sense advice “to make retirement saving work out for you” includes four proactive steps any investor can take:

Start saving specifically for retirement. This tip is especially directed at young workers. “Any amount you save at a young age can pay huge dividends down the road through the power of compound interest. A 22-year-old who saves $200 a month—just about $50 a week—at a 6 percent annual rate of return will have more than $76,000 saved towards retirement at age 40. That puts you well ahead of the $54,054 that is the average level of savings for those aged 35 - 44, according to Vanguard’s How America Saves,” Finra says.

Other advice includes enrolling in workplace retirement savings plan by calling your organization’s human resources department to get the ball rolling. Contribute at least enough to take full advantage of any company match that might be offered, Finra suggests.

“No company plan? Open an IRA, which you can often do in a few minutes with a simple phone call,” the alert advises.

The best way to fund plans? “Set up automatic contributions so that you are contributing each month, or with each paycheck. Both IRAs and employer-sponsored 401(k)s or similar plans provide tax advantages designed to encourage retirement savings (and discourage early withdrawals), so that’s where you should begin,” Finra says.

Giving yourself a savings "pay raise" each year, is another staple of successful retirement saving plan, the agency states. “Your savings target should be around 12 to 15 percent per year, inclusive of any employer match. You may need to work up to that amount over the course of a few years, escalating the amount you save by a percentage or two each year. But the earlier you lock in that double-digit savings rate the rosier your retirement balance sheet is likely to be.”

Don’t stop saving for retirement just because you reached an IRS limit, Finra says. “IRS retirement contribution limits are not guidelines for how much you should save. While an admirable first step, saving the IRS maximum may not ensure you meet your retirement goals. This is especially true if you are saving through an IRA, which has a maximum savings limit is $5,500 per year, or $6,500 if you are 50 or older. Unless you supplement this amount with other savings, your nest egg may fall short of what you need to enjoy a secure retirement,” Finra warns

“Consider discussing ways to enhance your retirement savings with an investment or tax professional,” the agency advises.

Last but not least, Finra advises retirement investors to evaluate investment fees. “Investing is never free,” says Finra, which warns investors that fees can “have a surprisingly large impact on your returns. It’s a good idea to conduct periodic check-ups on your financial accounts to ensure your money isn’t slowly being eaten away by high fees.”

How can investors check fees? “You may not have much power to control the fees in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, but you often can control which funds you select,” Finra advises. “Find out how much each fund charges in annual expenses. It may be possible to select lower-cost funds that allow for appropriate diversification and asset allocation,” says the agency, which refers investors to the FINRA Fund Analyzer, which allows individuals to compare performance and fees on over 18,000 mutual funds and exchange-traded products (https://tools.finra.org/fund_analyzer/).