Thanks for the replies. It appears to me that between the brokers and the pension providers everyone has their hands in our pockets. They all received fat commissions during the boom, but now that pension fund returns have gone down so much none of us can afford their rates. We should all fight for a more transparent system, which is geared towards the interests of the pensioner and not everyone else.
Anyway, I'm going to attempt to deal directly with the providers, so wish me luck!
thanks, Nipper