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$400 to change a lightbulb? Appliance repair costs are no joke

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Author Stephanie Dhue’s difficult-to-repair microwave.

Courtesy Stephanie Dhue

I bought a General Electric microwave oven in 2020 for $355. Recently, I noticed the interior light was out.

I told my husband, since he’s the one who takes care of repairs in our house. He took a look, only to learn that this wasn’t going to be an easy fix. The lightbulb is built into the unit so that it requires taking the microwave apart to change, and a technician is recommended. 

It sounds like the setup to a lightbulb joke: How much does it cost to change a microwave bulb?

The answer, however, wasn’t funny. When my husband and I started gathering estimates, we learned that the labor costs involved could be up to $400, maybe more — and that didn’t include the cost of the lightbulb.

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While my lightbulb situation may be somewhat unique, experts say it is not uncommon to learn the cost of repairs is more than the cost to replace an appliance.

Gay Gordon-Byrne had a similar experience with a microwave she purchased to match a stove. The microwave touchpad stopped working.

She figured out how to do the repair herself, but said the manufacturer tried to charge her $600 for the replacement part. Instead, she bought a new microwave for $175.

“I tell the story all the time because it’s so emblematic of what’s wrong with appliances these days,” said Gordon-Byrne, who is the executive director of Repair.org, which advocates for the legal right of owners to repair their own devices. 

Figuring out the cost for a repair

My first call to repair our microwave was to the appliance store where I made the purchase. The service center told me there would be $140 charge to come out, and they couldn’t guarantee that the technician would have a lightbulb on the truck. The service representative suggested I simply purchase a new microwave or shop around for other repair options. 

Next, I went to the GE site and filled out a form for service. I learned that the charge for a technician to come would be $125.

One of the the main reasons why it’s so difficult to fix things is because they’re designed with kind of a hostility to repair, or an ambivalence to repair.

Nathan Proctor

senior director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign

When the technician called, I explained the situation and that I needed to know how much it would cost before he came out. He told me he would charge for labor and parts. 

How much? Since the microwave sits in a cabinet above the counter, to remove it would be a “two man job,” he said, and could cost upwards of $400 for the labor. What if my husband and I took the microwave out and placed it on the counter? In that case the labor charge would be closer to $200, but that wasn’t an exact estimate. It also didn’t include the cost of the lightbulb.

I canceled the visit and the technician said there would be no charge.

When I asked GE Appliances why the microwave was designed this way, a spokesperson responded via e-mail that microwave lights are designed to last the lifetime of the product and failures are very uncommon in their products. The light fixture is more than a standard bulb that has to be encased behind a metal enclosure. 

“It’s not a simple screw-in and requires electrical training and background,” the spokesperson said. “Given the high voltage nature of microwaves, it not safe for consumers without a deep electrical understanding to operate on the interior of a microwave.” She also noted that service techs are required to test for emissions to comply with strict standards set by the U.S. government.

How ‘right to repair’ laws may affect options, costs

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State lawmakers and consumer advocates have been trying to make it easier and cheaper for consumers to get their devices repaired.

Several states — including California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York — have implemented so-called “right to repair” laws. Typically, the laws require manufacturers of certain devices — such as consumer electronics or appliances — to make parts, physical and software tools and repair information, like schematics, available at a fair and reasonable price. These laws can make it more straightforward for consumers to do repairs themselves, and widen professional repair options, too.

Colorado and Oregon have passed right to repair legislation that will go into effect in the next year, and more than a dozen others have introduced bills, according to Repair.org.

“We are just now starting to see the impact of legislation that we’ve been working on for 10 years,” said Gordon-Byrne. The earliest right to repair bills were filed in 2014, she said — including the first, in South Dakota, which failed — and “we really only got the first three laws in place to start July first of this year.”

There are limits to what these laws can do. Typically they only cover purchases made in recent years, and can be product-specific. New York’s law, for example, doesn’t include appliances. Some states have separate laws to cover specific products like autos, farm equipment and electronic wheelchairs.

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At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission said in a 2021 report to Congress that “restricting consumers and businesses from choosing how they repair products can substantially increase the total cost of repairs, generate harmful electronic waste, and unnecessarily increase wait times for repairs.” The Commission has also brought warranty-related enforcement actions and this summer sent warning letters to several manufacturers about their warranty practices. 

Critics of right to repair legislation say the patchwork of state laws are too broad and may do more harm than good.

“These state proposals and state laws could lead to a lose-lose situation in which manufacturers are harmed because it undercuts their profits, and consumers are harmed because they either see a decreased kind of quality of these products or an increase in price,” said Alex Reinauer, a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Some products designed ‘with a hostility to repair’

Consumer advocates say state laws and the FTC actions help, but haven’t solved the problem. 

“One of the main reasons why it’s so difficult to fix things is because they’re designed with kind of a hostility to repair, or an ambivalence to repair,” said Nathan Proctor, the senior director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign. 

To give consumers more information, US PIRG is also launching a new effort to bring repair-score labeling to the U.S. Right now, “there’s no way to tell what products are designed to be serviceable, and therefore last, and be resilient and durable,” Proctor said.

France already has this kind of system, he said, and the EU is rolling out a “repairability index,” with a rating system that scores a product based on factors including a repair-friendly design and the price and availability of parts. Scores range from zero to 10, with higher numbers indicating a more repairable product and greater longevity expectations.

However, those scores are subjective and may not hold up over time. For example, if a manufacturer discontinues making a part, that reparability score may not longer be accurate.

Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Reinauer is keeping a score of his own, using a spreadsheet that compares the Ingress Protection (IP) rating, which grades how a product stands up to water and dust intrusion, with the reparability index. He says that comparison doesn’t favor repairs.

“When a when a product is more repairable, typically it’s less durable,” said Reinauer, “so there are trade-offs in this.”

Do-it-yourself help

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Depending on the nature of the problem and safety issues involved, a repair may be worth trying to tackle on your own. Appliance owners may find help from others online.

“Researching the broken item’s issue on the web often leads to information and guides posted by others who have encountered the same issue, or a similar issue and how they addressed it,” said Peter Mui, the founder of Fixit Clinics. Product owners can get help with a do-it-yourself project at a Fixit Clinic or online at Discord. 

I’m weighing whether it’s worth trying to fix our microwave ourselves or to just live without an interior light. We could try to make it a fun community DIY event, but we risk a repair failure. The microwave model we have now typically costs between $420 and $480 new, if we want to replace it — but I promise I will not buy another appliance without checking if I can change the lightbulb.  

 Feels like there’s a bad joke in here somewhere. 

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Prices of top 25 Medicare Part D drugs have nearly doubled: AARP

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List prices for the top 25 prescription drugs covered by Medicare Part D have nearly doubled, on average, since they were first brought to market, according to a new AARP report.

Moreover, that price growth has often exceeded the rate of inflation, according to the interest group representing Americans ages 50 and over.

The analysis comes as Medicare now has the ability to negotiate prescription drug costs after the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022.

Notably, only certain drugs are eligible for those price negotiations.

The Biden administration in August released a list of the first 10 drugs to be included, which may prompt an estimated $6 billion in net savings for Medicare in 2026.

Another list of 15 Part D drugs selected for negotiation for 2027 is set to be announced by Feb. 1 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Biden administration releases prices of 10 drugs in Medicare negotiations

AARP studied the top 25 Part D drugs as of 2022 that are not currently subject to Medicare price negotiation. However, there is a “pretty strong likelihood” at least some of the drugs on that list may be selected in the second line of negotiation, according to Leigh Purvis, prescription drug policy principal at AARP.

Those 25 drugs have increased by an average of 98%, or nearly doubled, since they entered the market, the research found, with lifetime price increases ranging from 0% to 293%.

Price increases that took place after the drugs began selling on the market were responsible for a “substantial portion” of the current list prices, AARP found.

The top 25 treatments have been on the market for an average of 11 years, with timelines ranging from five to 28 years.

The findings highlight the importance of allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, as well as having a mechanism to discourage annual price increases, Purvis said. Under the Inflation Reduction Act, drug companies will also be penalized for price increases that exceed inflation.

Notably, a new $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket Part D prescription drug costs goes into effect this year. Beneficiaries will also have the option of spreading out those costs over the course of the year, rather than paying all at once. Insulin has also been capped at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries.

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Those caps help people who were previously spending upwards of $10,000 per year on their cost sharing of Part D prescription drugs, according to Purvis.

“The fact that there’s now a limit is incredibly important for them, but then also really important for everyone,” Purvis said. “Because everyone is just one very expensive prescription away from needing that out-of-pocket cap.”

The new law also expands an extra help program for Part D beneficiaries with low incomes.

“We do hear about people having to choose between splitting their pills to make them last longer, or between groceries and filling a prescription,” said Natalie Kean, director of federal health advocacy at Justice in Aging.

“The pressure of costs and prescription drugs is real, and especially for people with low incomes, who are trying to just meet their day-to-day needs,” Kean said.

As the new changes go into effect, retirees should notice tangible differences when they’re filling their prescriptions, she said.

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How much money you should save for a comfortable retirement

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Many Americans are anxious and confused when it comes to saving for retirement.

One of those pain points: How much should households be setting aside to give themselves a good chance at financial security in older age?

More than half of Americans lack confidence in their ability to retire when they want and to sustain a comfortable life, according to a 2024 poll by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

It’s easy to see why people are unsure of themselves: Retirement savings is an inexact science.

“It’s really a hard question to answer,” said Philip Chao, a certified financial planner and founder of Experiential Wealth, based in Cabin John, Maryland.

“Everyone’s answer is different,” Chao said. “There is no magic number.”

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Why?

Savings rates change from person to person based on factors such as income and when they started saving. It’s also inherently impossible for anyone to know when they’ll stop working, how long they’ll live, or how financial conditions may evolve — all of which impact the value of one’s nest egg and how long it must last.

That said, there are guideposts and truisms that will give many savers a good shot at getting it right, experts said.

15% is ‘probably the right place to start’

“I think a total savings rate of 15% is probably the right place to start,” said CFP David Blanchett, head of retirement research at PGIM, the asset management arm of Prudential Financial.

The percentage is a share of savers’ annual income before taxes. It includes any money workers might get from a company 401(k) match.

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Those with lower earnings — say, less than $50,000 a year — can probably save less, perhaps around 10%, Blanchett said, as a rough approximation.

Conversely, higher earners — perhaps those who make more than $200,000 a year — may need to save closer to 20%, he said.

These disparities are due to the progressive nature of Social Security. Benefits generally account for a bigger chunk of lower earners’ retirement income relative to higher earners. Those with higher salaries must save more to compensate.

“If I make $5 million, I don’t really care about Social Security, because it won’t really make a dent,” Chao said.

How to think about retirement savings

Daniel De La Hoz | Moment | Getty Images

Households should have a basic idea of why they’re saving, Chao said.

Savings will help cover, at a minimum, essential expenses such as food and housing throughout retirement, which may last decades, Chao said. Hopefully there will be additional funds for spending on nonessential items such as travel.

This income generally comes from a combination of personal savings and Social Security. Between those sources, households generally need enough money each year to replace about 70% to 75% of the salaries they earned just before retirement, Chao said.

There is no magic number.

Philip Chao

CFP, founder of Experiential Wealth

Fidelity, the largest administrator of 401(k) plans, pegs that replacement rate at 55% to 80% for workers to be able to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.

Of that, about 45 percentage points would come from savings, Fidelity wrote in an October analysis.

To get there, people should save 15% a year from age 25 to 67, the firm estimates. The rate may be lower for those with a pension, it said.

The savings rate also rises for those who start later: Someone who starts saving at 35 years old would need to save 23% a year, for example, Fidelity estimates.

An example of how much to save

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Here’s a basic example from Fidelity of how the financial calculus might work: Let’s say a 25-year-old woman earns $54,000 a year. Assuming a 1.5% raise each year, after inflation, her salary would be $100,000 by age 67.

Her savings would likely need to generate about $45,000 a year, adjusted for inflation, to maintain her lifestyle after age 67. This figure is 45% of her $100,000 income before retirement, which is Fidelity’s estimate for an adequate personal savings rate.

Since the worker currently gets a 5% dollar-for-dollar match on her 401(k) plan contributions, she’d need to save 10% of her income each year, starting with $5,400 this year — for a total of 15% toward retirement.

However, 15% won’t necessarily be an accurate guide for everyone, experts said.

“The more you make, the more you have to save,” Blanchett said. “I think that’s a really important piece, given the way Social Security benefits adjust based upon your historical earnings history.”

Keys to success: ‘Start early and save often’

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There are some keys to general success for retirement, experts said.

  1. “Start early and save often,” Chao said. “That’s the main thing.” This helps build a savings habit and gives more time for investments to grow, experts said.
  2. “If you can’t save 15%, then save 5%, save whatever you can — even 1% — so you get in the habit of knowing you need to put money away,” Blanchett said. “Start when you can, where you can.”
  3. Every time you get a raise, save at least a portion instead of spending it all. Blanchett recommends setting aside at least a quarter of each raise. Otherwise, your savings rate will lag your more expensive lifestyle.
  4. Many people invest too conservatively, Chao said. Investors need an adequate mix of assets such as stocks and bonds to ensure investments grow adequately over decades. Target-date funds aren’t optimal for everyone, but provide a “pretty good” asset allocation for most savers, Blanchett said.
  5. Save for retirement in a tax-advantaged account like a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, rather than a taxable brokerage account, if possible. The latter will generally erode more savings due to taxes, Blanchett said.
  6. Delaying retirement is “the silver bullet” to make your retirement savings last longer, Blanchett said. One caution: Workers can’t always count on this option being available.
  7. Don’t forget about “vesting” rules for your 401(k) match. You may not be entitled to that money until after a few years of service.

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Missing quarterly tax payment could trigger ‘unexpected penalties’

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The fourth-quarter estimated tax deadline for 2024 is Jan. 15, and missing a payment could trigger “unexpected penalties and fees” when filing your return, according to the IRS.

Typically, estimated taxes apply to income without withholdings, such as earnings from freelance work, a small business or investments. But you could still owe taxes for full-time or retirement income if you didn’t withhold enough.

You could also owe fourth-quarter taxes for year-end bonuses, stock dividends, capital gains from mutual fund payouts or profits from crypto sales and more, the IRS said.    

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Federal income taxes are “pay as you go,” meaning the IRS expects payments throughout the year as you make income, said certified public accountant Brian Long, senior tax advisor at Wealth Enhancement in Minneapolis. 

If you miss the Jan. 15 deadline, you may incur an interest-based penalty based on the current interest rate and how much you should have paid. That penalty compounds daily.

Tax withholdings, estimated payments or a combination of the two, can “help avoid a surprise tax bill at tax time,” according to the IRS.

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However, you could still owe taxes for 2024 if you make more than expected and don’t adjust your tax payments.

“The good thing about this last quarterly payment is that most individuals should have their year-end numbers finalized,” said Sheneya Wilson, a CPA and founder of Fola Financial in New York.

How to make quarterly estimated tax payments

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