Millennial Retirement Concerns: Social Security & Financial Outlook

Image Credit: @rebekah/Twenty20

Time is relentless, as the oldest millennials are learning every day. As the "me" generation inches toward 40, the specter of retirement is looming larger. So is our guilt about not saving enough. But with ongoing student debt loads and an uneven economy, who could blame us?

The multinational firm Ernst & Young has just released extensive survey data looking into how millennials relate to their finances — and the future. When it comes to our golden years, we're pretty freaked out: Three-quarters of survey respondents said lack of Social Security at retirement posed a big concern for them, as did 70 percent about not having enough to retire on.

One analyst told Yahoo! Finance that millennials are still overall "very financially stressed." EY's Cathy Koch put it this way: "They look at today's economy and they know that it's better than it has been, but they look at tomorrow's economy and they're still worried, as the stats show only 34 percent expect their standard of living to be better than their parents."

At least with retirement, we're not all automatically doomed, but now is as good a time as any to start planning, whatever that plan entails. There are realistic savings outlooks for millennials out there; if you're hesitant about learning more, there are even fun ways to do so, like escape rooms. State governments may get in the game going forward too. Cut yourself some slack — the past decade has been a nightmare in a lot of ways. For now, for the future, take advantage of every bit of help you can get.