Posted by The Team at Brand Financial Training on January 10, 2023 in Newsletter
10 January 2023
This article is correct as at 10 January 2023.
We hope that you enjoyed a good break over the the holiday period, with lots of fun, food, and laughter.
It’s time to shake off the food coma and make your plans for 2023. It’s the perfect opportunity to consider a different approach from your usual revision strategy. This month’s study and revision article shares with you 4 ways you can change things up a little.
Our feature article is all about Pensions Tax Relief and will be of interest to those studying for their pensions-related CII exam.
For those preparing for the CII R06 exam, you still have one day to pre-order the analysis before it is released tomorrow and the price goes up.
To your exam success in 2023!
The Team at Brand Financial Training
Featured Article
Pensions Tax Relief: What are you being asked?
Those candidates studying towards the CII R04 exam may have noticed the rather prominent ‘be aware’ box in Chapter 2B of the study text regarding the annual allowance and money purchase annual allowance. This points out the importance of reading an exam question carefully particularly when it comes to tax relief on pension contributions. This article is relevant for anyone studying for the AF5, AF7, AF8, R04, or R06 exams.
The point being made in the study text is that the initial entitlement to tax relief on a pension contribution is not actually related to the annual allowance (AA) or the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA).
Individuals get tax relief on the contribution when it’s made based on their relevant UK earnings (or £3,600), whichever is the higher, even if the contribution is more than the MPAA or the AA.
The MPAA and AA is taken into account when the individual completes their self-assessment tax return. At this point, it can be seen if that person is able to keep all the tax relief they have been awarded or has to pay the annual allowance charge.
January is typically a time for wanting to do things differently. As we usher in 2023, how about looking at a change in your approach to study?
We’ve all heard the ubiquitous quote about insanity meaning ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’. It’s usually attributed to Albert Einstein, although in fact there is some dispute over whether he actually uttered those words.
But whoever did say them, it’s a notion that rings true for many of us. And January is typically a time for wanting to do things differently. As we usher in 2023, how about looking at a change in approach rather than proclaiming new resolutions, which all too often end up being broken anyway?
In other words, rather than making a vague, intangible resolution about ‘revising hard’, which is not measurable and, frankly, probably not achievable either, it may be worth focusing on the way you revise and making a shift in your approach or the various tools you use.
That could especially be the case if the techniques you’re using aren’t making the information ‘stick’ in your brain. If you feel you’d benefit from making some changes, and fancy shaking things up a bit, here are some ideas you could try:
Listening rather than reading
It may well be that you learn and remember most from hearing words rather than reading them. Revising information this way also gives you more versatility, since you don’t need to be at your desk, and you may find that this makes an energising change. For a literal breath of fresh air, record your notes on your phone and listen on the bus or while walking the dog or cooking a meal. You could even make use of our audio masterclasses ’ available for AF1, AF4, J02, R01, R02, R03, R04, and R05.
All resources for IF1, IF2, IF3, IF4, and IF5 have been updated in accordance with the new syllabus examinable from 1 January 2023.
AF1 Personal Tax and Trust Planning
We offer a range of resources that will help you to feel fully prepared on exam day:
Mock Exam Papers - 3 full sets of 3 multi-part questions and answers including cross references to the relevant CII study text.
Calculation Workbook – Focusing on the calculations within the exam syllabus, the calculation workbook provides calculation questions with full step-by-step answers, detailed explanations and cross-references to the relevant CII study text.
Revision Notes – Designed for use when you are further along with your exam studies, our revision notes are a streamlined version of the learning outcomes and exam syllabus combined with self-test questions.
Workbook – Looking at key points, this takes you through the legal aspects and taxation of Trusts, as well as looking at life assurance and trusts, this workbook helps aid knowledge retention and understanding with a variety of short exercises.
MP3 Audio Masterclasses – Learn by listening with our MP3 masterclasses. They allow you to absorb and understand the material in digestible chunks. You can listen at home, in the car, at the gym or wherever you may be.
The above resources can be bought as part of a study kit, so you can save 10% off the cost of buying them individually.
Still not sure? Why not try before you buy? Free tasters are available for all of the resources listed above. Just click here to access all our AF1 resource tasters.
R06 Case Study Analysis
We are busy preparing our R06 case study analysis ready for release TOMORROW. We were thrilled our customers achieved a pass rate of 82% in the September 2022 exam compared to the 2021 CII pass rate of 74%*.
The analysis aims to give you a better understanding of how to tackle the R06 exam, providing questions our experts think could be asked in the exam and model answers; generic questions and answers; self-test questions; past paper analysis; plus help with exam technique and exclusive access to our Email Support Day.
* The CII percentage shown is as displayed on the CII website as at 10 January 2023. Our pass rate is based on the feedback from those customers who respond to our email asking them about their results.
Updates to CII Study Texts
Here’s a reminder that the CII update their study texts throughout the examinable year to either incorporate new legislations, correct errors or clarify information. Many candidates aren’t aware of this, which can result in candidates studying out-of-date information.
To find out if you have the most up-to-date information, visit the CII website, navigate to your chosen exam and click on ‘learning solutions update’ in the ‘Unit updates’ section in the sidebar.
Note that we keep our resources up-to-date with any updates from the CII.
Did You Miss These Posts on Our Blog?
Articles and Help for All Your Exams
You’ll find that there’s something for everyone when you check out our blog:
specific topics and how-to articles;
reviews of recent CII exam papers;
our Friday Five – a weekly quiz to give you a fun break from reading the study text;
study techniques that help you to retain your revision and keep your brain working for you, when you need it
Here are the blog posts you might have missed since our last newsletter:
There’s such a variety of information on offer to help you as you tackle your CII exams, that you won’t want to miss a single post. We’ve made it easy for you; just click the button below and enter your email details. Be ‘in the know’ with CII-exam-related tips and info – straight to your inbox!
Quote of the Month
..." If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires. "...
Malcolm Gladwell
Friday 5 Focus on...
"5 Questions in 5 Minutes Every Friday"
Each week, we ask questions relating to one of these topics: Investments, Taxation, Pensions, Protection, or Regulation. The challenge is for you to answer them in 5 minutes.
Where do I find the Friday Five?
We post each week’s Friday Five to our blog first thing every Friday. You can either visit our blog every Friday at https://brandft.co.uk/blog/ or you can simply go there now, and click on the subscribe button in the top right-hand corner of the blog and sign up to receive notifications of our Friday Five posts.
Note that we don’t email the Friday Five out to everybody every Friday, so we recommend you sign up to our blog at https://brandft.co.uk/blog/ so that you receive an email notification when it is posted. It will only take you a minute to sign up.
A bit of Friday Fun, but with the added benefit of testing your exam knowledge!
