Astronomical charges on Britain’s worst pensions are leaving savers hundreds of thousands of pounds worse off in retirement, Money Mail can reveal. Today we lift the lid on the dizzying array of fees buried in millions of policies sold to savers in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties. At worst, the unwarranted charges will slash £130,000 off the final value of a £50,000 pension over the next decade-and-a-half. The charges figure will rise higher still if the funds — many of which have performed miserably since 1990 — continue to grow at a snail’s pace.

Ed Holder, of independent financial adviser Holder & Combes, says: ‘Money held in these horrendous pensions is being eroded at a rate of knots — quite literally, the value of the fund could be shrinking faster than it is growing.’ For some savers, it is still possible to salvage the situation by moving the whole pension pot to a modern-day plan with lower fees. For others, it is too late. The most punishing pensions are held by so-called zombie insurance firms, which are closed to new businesses and have no incentive to lower fees....Read more here: Fees on worst pensions can leave savers £130k worse off | This is Money