More than 1.6 million pension savers will see their retirement pots smashed by one of the highest UK tax rates of all. That’s their reward for doing the right thing and saving for their retirement. Every saver needs to check to see whether they are at risk before it’s too late.

The pensions lifetime allowance is the maximum you can build in personal and workplace pensions over your lifetime.

Successive Chancellors have steadily cut this from £1.8 million a decade ago to a much less generous £1,073,100 today.

That may still sound a lot but Jonathan Watts-Lay, director at retirement specialist WEALTH at work, said: “Whilst having more than £1million in pension savings may seem unrealistic to most, reaching the lifetime allowance could be closer than you think.”

As well as high earners, those with defined benefit final salary schemes are also in the firing line. As are those who have saved from an early age, or whose investments have performed strongly, he said.

Company pension members who receive matching contributions from their employer could also breach it unexpectedly, and pay a heavy price.

The danger is growing now that Rishi Sunak has frozen the lifetime allowance at today’s level for the next five tax years, in a move that will raise £1 billion for the cash-strapped Treasury.

More savers will get caught every year and Watts-Lay said many don’t even realise they are at risk. “The tax implications could be drastic and many face unexpected and sometimes unnecessary tax bills.”

He added: “Many pension savers who are nowhere near breaching the lifetime allowance today could easily exceed it by the time they retire.”

Here are the three types of saver most at risk.

1. The blissfully unaware. Most people think they don’t have anywhere near enough pension to exceed the lifetime allowance, “yet many may already have breached it,” Watts-Lay said.

READ MORE: Rishi Sunak’s 55% ‘nightmare’ pensions tax trap – who pays, who won’t

2. Those who think they are a long way off. Many people believe think they are nowhere near breaching the lifetime allowance, but turn out to be wrong. It is another costly mistake.

This often happens where people are making healthy contributions to a workplace pension and receiving matching contributions from their employer.

Watts-Lay said: “Positive pension fund growth as well as a pay rise may easily push them over the lifetime allowance before they know it.”

As an example, a 45-year-old with £400,000 in their pension could end up with £1,381,000 by the time they retire at 65, just by saving five percent of a £50,000 salary, while their employer contributes 10 percent.

3. Those who think they are protected but aren’t. Some workers have seen the danger and opted out of their workplace pension scheme, but may still be at risk of a breach.

Under auto-enrolment company pension rules, employees who quit their scheme are re-enrolled every three years.

“Just one month’s contribution could invalidate protection previously granted, without someone even realising,” Watts-Lay said.

It you are in danger from this “drastic” tax, it’s time to take drastic action.