Pension fees on a £200,000 pot — approaching real retirement provision.

£200,000 represents serious retirement provision — at the 4% safe withdrawal rate it produces around £8,000 a year in income, on top of the full state pension's £11,502, giving you roughly £19,500 a year before tax. At this pot size fees are a significant operational expense: 1% of £200,000 is £2,000 a year, every year. Over a 30-year retirement that compounds to an opportunity cost of more than £80,000 versus a 0.3% provider. Worth noting: above £200,000, some platforms switch from percentage fees to capped fees or flat monthly fees that can work out much cheaper. Interactive Investor charges £5.99 per month flat, which on £200k works out to roughly 0.04% — a tenth of the typical workplace pension fee.