Who do you love more – theMillennials, the pundits who talk about Millennials, or the creditunions who offer all sorts of products to capture the Millennialdemographic?

Let’s start with the Millennials themselves – the most hypedgeneration of all time. They were first introduced in 1981 as the“Echo Boomers.” They evolved into “Gen Y” – a weird mix of Gen Xand Y2K. When the world didn’t end on Jan. 1, 2000, Gen Y becamethe “Millennial Generation.” It’s more dignified – right? But tocredit unions they are becoming known as “Gen Wait.”

This last moniker reflects a dawning realization that theMillennial generation is waiting to do everything that matters to acredit union. Millennials are simply not buying cars or houses.They’re not getting married, having children or planning forretirement. Why? Because college debt, high unemployment orunderemployment has crowded everything else out of the typicalMillennial’s wallet.

According to demographer Ken Gronbach, the Millennials or Gen Ywill need to become far more entrepreneurial or face upwards of 50%unemployment. A startling forecast.

The pundits have made quite a living from scaring credit unionsinto Millennial-oriented products. Mobile banking, mobile walletsand NFC are all great products. There’s just one problem: TheMillennial audience doesn’t have enough disposable income to takethat first bite of the credit union’s apple.

All the mobile banking in the world won’t bring a horde ofunderbanked Millennials to a credit union’s door. And guess what?Not having mobile banking isn’t preventing them from visiting. Theysimply don’t have the money to get started!

Credit union managers – let’s not all weep at once. TheMillennials are missing out big time, too. They have little to noexposure to financial basics – like shared draft accounts,budgeting and nickel-at-a-time savings plans. Case in point – myMillennial son who thought that standing in line to buy moneyorders was the best way to pay his bills.

What’s the scariest part of the story? Every time I tell it tothe parents of a Millennial, they nod their heads and tell me,“Mine, too.”

Given that the last enlightened generation – the Baby Boomers(and the small and over- indulgent Gen X, the group between theBoomers and Y) – whose finances have been challenged by difficulteconomies and overall poor planning, what hope do we have for theMillennials’ financial future? They will awaken to financialreality later than any generation before them. As a result, theyare guaranteed to have even fewer assets saved for retirement whenthey need them.

All the talk about banking channels ignores one simple fact –the Millennial generation needs credit counseling more thananywhere, anytime banking. They need knowledge. They need tools tomodel their future. They need advice. They need products that willhelp them escape their financial black hole. They need ongoingsupport.

Does your credit union want to attract and retain the Millennialgeneration? These ideas might be the most effective way to doit.

RobertBessel is public relations director for COCC Inc. in Avon,Conn.