Question:
I would like to know when or how the law or regulation will be amended so that you can withdraw from your pension fund if you are younger than 55. Sometimes we make decisions not knowing what will happen in the future. Is there any place where we can lodge complaints regarding this?
Answer:
Mandisa,
It is because we do not know what will happen in the future, that we need to make sensible decisions in the present. If we knew we won't make it past 18, we would not bother getting an education. And if we knew that we won't live to see our retirement, we would not have to save for retirement. But we don't know these things ahead of time, and most of us do make it past 18 and 55, so we need to get an education and we need save for retirement. No doubt, you could use this money to improve your life style or pay down your debts right now, but when you tun 55 and no longer work, you will be glad that you couldn't.
So this law is designed to protect you from yourself. In fact, National Treasury wants to make it more difficult for individuals to access their retirement savings before retirement, so you have no chance of getting this law changed. But you can send an email to National Treasury (minreg@treasury.gov.za) to voice your disapproval.
