Dr. Oz Suggests Extending Careers to Generate $3 Trillion for National Debt

Washington, Tuesday, 3 February 2026.
On February 2, 2026, Dr. Mehmet Oz presented a striking economic proposition: if the average American extended their working life by just one year—either by delaying retirement or starting their career earlier—it could inject approximately $3 trillion into the U.S. economy. Speaking at a mental health initiative launch with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Oz argued that this surge in productivity and tax revenue would be sufficient to stabilize the Medicare trust fund and significantly alleviate the federal debt burden. While Oz frames this as a path to fiscal strength, the suggestion has sparked immediate debate regarding labor force participation, as OECD data reveals Americans already rank seventh globally in annual hours worked.