"You can cash in your pension any time you want to. But, there are penalties for doing so unless you have reached the proper age and time of service. There is usually a 20% penalty, plus you have to pay the taxes on the money you are getting. I believe to be true that if you have a medical emergency and are completely disabled that you can get your pension earlier without the big penalty.
. Sometimes it depends on the employer also as to if they want to release your pension early. If you are a union worker the company has to go by the rules established in your contract. Check out that contract and who holds the pension monies. They will let you know how to go about this, and if, and how much the penalties will be for you to do so. Most likely you can cash it in, but it will be far less than if you wait until you have met all the stipulations the company you worked for have on it."
