For anyone who's feeling like this:

I've had a few people half-joke about this in my personal life and it bothers me. You could do that, or could challenge the defeatist perspective and make a plan to live a decent life in retirement and save now. It doesn't have to be a $2MIL retirement.

Yes there are financial disadvantages for people these days especially in housing, but don't give up before you even start. If you make small incremental changes, you can save for retirement and improve your finances. This won't happen over night, but it'll happen if you commit a few years to improving things.

You'll likely get OAS, CPP (which will be a lot more than they are now), dividends from investments (1.5-3%), and money from selling a small percentage of your investments every year. If you use the TFSA to save, you won't need to pay any taxes on any of it.

Some very rough retirement calculations:

I don't know how old you are but it's very possible CPP will be at least $20k per year in ~30 years. Let's say you qualify for 75% of that ($1500). You'll also automatically get OAS, which will probably be around $1000 per month. Let's say you're able to re-arrange your finances over the next 1-2 years and save $400 per month and investment them in an index ETF within a TFSA, you have around $315,000 in 25 years. Remember, that money stays invested during your retirement years and keeps growing/replenishing what you take out. The rule is to only draw down 4% per year in retirement.

To tally this up...monthly...

CPP: $1250 OAS: $1000 Dividends from investments: $600 Investment drawdown: 1050

Total: $3900 per month.

This is obviously very rough estimates but they're fair, and its workable. You might need to move to a lower cost of living area or rent with a friend or roommate, but it's possible.

And if you're able to save more as time goes on, even better. Why not get a roommate now for a few years to save up and excelerate things? Or start a dog walking business on the weekends.

Stay focused on the positives and don't compare yourself too much to other people.