The evidence is overwhelming that America’s retirement system is cracking under pressure. Mainstream media rarely touches the issue directly, unless it’s tied to a broader story, like a self-inflicted recession. Otherwise the eradicated pension and the flawed, do-it-yourself 401(k) get little airtime, despite the fact that millions of workers are barreling toward a future of mass poverty and displacement. 

But on Substack, a growing set of writers get it—and while not all write exclusively about retirement, each offers an essential piece of the bigger picture: tracking policy, dissecting inequality, analyzing demographic shifts, or exploring why so many are exiting the workforce early.

1. Allison Schrager

A Bloomberg columnist and author of An Economist Walks into a Brothel uses her finance chops to explore undercovered corners of the economy (sex work) as well as more traditional topics (sovereign debt). Schrager’s Known Unknowns Substack takes skew pro-market and supply-side, making her an interesting counterbalance to more Keynesian voices in the space.

She’s also pretty clear-eyed about the inevitable demise of the traditional 401(k), regularly writing about how risk has shifted onto individual workers and what might come next.

2. Kyla Scanlon

Scanlon peppers commentaries on the week-to-week economic cycles with coverage of the Extremely Online happenings with TikTok, bitcoin and MrBeast. Her Substack comes on the heels of her YouTube channel (with an impressive following that continues to grow) as well as her well-reviewed book In This Economy?: How Money & Markets Really Work. 

While not directly retirement-focused, her breakdowns of macro signals, Fed moves, and internet-driven financial trends provide important context for understanding how younger generations think about saving—and why many don’t see retirement as a realistic goal.

3. Eugene Steuerle

Steuerle co-founded the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and his Substack, The Government We Deserve, often reads as if he’s preparing to submit testimony before a congressional panel (complimentary). 

It’s data-heavy, for sure, but there’s a definite payoff in his policy prescriptions and analyses of the social safety net. For years, he's led the chorus of those proposing a universal basic wage, by effectively removing means-testing from the earned-income tax credit. It’s one of several creative fixes he’s floated in response to the retirement squeeze.

4. Anne Arvizu

Arvizu isn’t coming from a wonkish angle, but her lifestyle-focused C.O.R.E. Expressions zeroes in on workplace burnout and the shifting attitudes around career longevity.  

She helps explain why many workers are rethinking retirement age altogether, or leaving the workforce long before traditional financial planners expect.

5. Jeremy Ney

Ney’s American Inequality explores the systemic forces driving economic disparities, and, like Steuerle’s Substack, strongly advocates for expanding the EITC. 

Using a similarly data-rich lens, Ney unpacks the roots of retirement insecurity among working-age Americans. His work blends policy, economics, and personal insight to illuminate the structural barriers like wage stagnation and neighborhood inequality that keep financial security and retirement out of reach for millions.

6. Stephanie Kelton

Stephanie Kelton, an economist and author of The Deficit Myth, offers sharp analysis of the retirement crisis at The Lens. As one of the most visible voices behind Modern Monetary Theory, Kelton challenges conventional wisdom around government spending, Social Security “solvency,” and the supposed limits of public finance.

If you've ever wondered why the U.S. can find trillions for bailouts but not for retirement security, this is essential reading. Her work reframes the narrative from “we can’t afford it” to “we’ve chosen not to.”

7. Jennifer D. Sciubba

For a better grasp on how birthrates and life longevity have reshaped the workforce, Sciubba’s A World of 8 Billion delivers macro insights, as she is one of the leading experts on demographic trends. 

Her Substack provides commentary and analysis on labor, longevity, and why both our aging population and institutions aren’t ready for what’s coming.