Retirement products lock money up in exchange for tax relief. The lock isn't absolute, but the exceptions are narrow and the tax cost of using them is usually high. Here's the clear version.
The default: age 55.
Retirement annuities, pension funds, and provident funds all hit their normal "retirement" point at age 55. You can retire earlier than 55 from a pension or provident fund (on disability grounds, or on leaving your employer), but an RA is locked until 55 except in the cases below.
The two-pot system (from September 2024).
New contributions to retirement funds are split: one-third into a "savings pot" you can withdraw from once a year (taxed as income), two-thirds into a "retirement pot" locked until 55. This gives you a small valve for emergencies without collapsing the whole retirement plan.
Early access, the narrow exceptions.
- Leaving your employer. You can take a cash withdrawal from a pension or provident fund on resignation, retrenchment or dismissal (taxed on a specific withdrawal-lump-sum table).
- Disability. Permanent disability can trigger early access.
- Formal emigration. Emigrating in tax terms allows full access after a three-year waiting period.
- Small amounts. RAs under a small threshold (currently R15,000) can be taken as cash.
The tax reality.
Any withdrawal before retirement is taxed under the "withdrawal lump-sum" table, which is less generous than the retirement table. The first R27,500 is tax-free; above that, tax starts at 18% and rises quickly. Retiring properly, later, is almost always the cheaper path.