Also note that the IRS doesn't require that your employer lets you withdraw from your 401(k) as long as you separate from service in or after the year you turn 55, they simply allow it. Whether or not your former employer allows it is up to them.
I'm not sure this is true. They have to let you remove your money from your 401(k) after you leave the company. The tax treatment of that withdrawal wouldn't be under the company's control, would it?
What they do definitely have control over is how many withdrawals you can take. A lot of companies don't want to deal with former employees making regular withdrawals from the plan, so they structure their plan to meet the bare minimum requirements: you can keep your money in there as long as you want, but the second you take out even a penny you have to close your account and take your money elsewhere. You can of course roll whatever you're not going to spend soon into an IRA so your savings maintains its tax-deferred status, but once it's in an IRA it doesn't qualify for the age 55 rule anymore.
If you're planning to take advantage of the age 55 rule for a large portion of your spending from 55 to 60, best to read the fine print on your 401(k) documents to make sure it's allowed. If you only have $4,700 that you want to take out, all in one year, I'm not sure there's much the company can do about it so long as you're willing to roll the rest into an IRA if needed.