Eli5 why can’t you access Pensions before 55?

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Why can’t I access money that I have earn’t before the age 55. For instance I’m 30 and I have a pension from an old job that is not my main pension. It has 1k in it, I could do with the money now but everywhere I look it says you can’t access it till your 55? It’s my money I don’t understand how they can keep it from me unless I pay some ridiculous early withdrawal tax of 50%?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

If you really mean it’s a pension, then it’s not your money. It’s a promise from the company to pay you that amount of money monthly from retirement until you die. If you retire early they’d owe you a *lot* more money and that’s not what it’s for. The company has to constantly put money into the pension fund to cover current retireees, you can’t just skip out 20 years early and expect all that extra payment.

However, from your wording, I suspect you don’t mean a pension, you mean a retirement account that *you* put money in. That’s not a pension but there are other good comments here with why that has tax penalties.

Edit:typo

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