Our Post-Exam Review of the January 2026 CII R06 Exam
Our Post-Exam Review of the January 2026 CII R06 Exam
The exam guide from the January sitting of R06 has been released by the CII, prompting us to see how we did in predicting the questions and model answers in our pre-exam analysis.
This article is correct as at 17 March 2026.
You can access the exam guide here.*
Case Study 1
Case Study 1 introduced us to Arish and Fiona, a married couple both aged 30 with two young children.
Their financial aims were to:
- ensure that they have sufficient financial protection to meet their family needs;
- set up an appropriate structure for Fiona’s new consultancy practice;
- improve the tax-efficiency of their financial arrangements.
| Question | Our Analysis |
|---|---|
| State the additional information that a financial adviser would require to enable them to assess the suitability of Arish and Fiona’s current financial arrangements to meet their objectives. | As expected, the exam began with a general fact-finding question. Here, the examiner is looking for a broad range of relevant points across all of the client’s financial circumstances. There is no negative marking so candidates would be well advised to include as many points as possible as demonstrated in our model answers in the analysis. |
| Explain to Fiona, the key considerations she should take into account when deciding whether she should set up a limited company for her new consultancy practice. | A question on this subject was expected as it was one of their key aims. Our analysis had included full details covering benefits and drawbacks and key considerations of setting up the business as a limited company. A point of note for future candidates - if the question says key considerations this would be answered in the same way as if it asked for ‘key factors’ or ‘key issues’. |
| Explain, in detail, to Arish why he should consider increasing his pension contributions. | Whenever we have a client caught by the personal allowance trap we know the tax benefits of pension contributions are likely to be a good solution. Our analysis had covered this and also covered salary sacrifice and the benefits of a workplace scheme which were also included in the CII model answer. |
| Outline to Arish the potential benefits of investing in a Venture Capital Trust. | Any subject that is clearly highlighted as a proposed action is highly likely to be tested. Candidates should always ask themselves what the benefits, drawbacks or issues/factors to consider of this course of action. Our analysis had provided full model answers for the benefits of investing in a VCT. |
| Outline the key issues that a financial adviser should discuss with Arish and Fiona before they decide whether to make any lump sum payments towards their student loans. | Again, paying off the student loans was highlighted as a proposed action so considering the benefits, drawbacks and issues around this course of action were also considered in full in the analysis. |
| Identify the key reasons why it may be beneficial for Arish and Fiona to review the fund choices within their existing pensions and investments. | This was a less obvious question for case study 1 as fund selection was not flagged as an objective for these clients. However, candidates should be prepared for a review question on any part of the client’s finances. Our analysis had covered the importance of reviewing funds for case study 2 and highlighted the key issue with Arish and Fiona’s funds i.e. that they are not diversified. We hope candidates were able to adapt their answers to the question to pick up good marks. |
Case Study 2
Onto case study two where we met the married couple Jon and Elaine both aged 64. Each has two children from previous marriages.
Their financial aims were to:
- improve the tax-efficiency of their financial arrangements as they approach retirement;
- put in place suitable arrangements to ensure that their children from their previous marriages receive their individual assets on second death;
- review the affordability for Jon of making gifts to his children when he retires.
| Question | Our Analysis |
|---|---|
| Identify the additional information that should be considered by a financial adviser to establish if Jon can afford to make the proposed gifts to his children. | Making the planned gift was a clear objective for Jon. We had therefore covered the key factors to consider to establish the affordability of the gift. Our model answers could have been used to answer this question, alongside our model answers for the general fact-finding question on this case study. |
| Explain to Jon how the proposed gifts to his children would be treated for Inheritance Tax purposes. | Given Jon has a potential IHT issue, and gifting and IHT go hand in hand, we had anticipated this question in our analysis. |
| Explain to Elaine how any potential Capital Gains Tax (CGT) liability on the sale of the unit trust would be calculated, and how any potential liability could be mitigated. No calculations are required. | Where the clients own a unit trust, investment trust, OEIC or investment bond, the taxation implications on disposal are always a potential subject that could be tested. We had therefore provided model answers to explain how CGT would be calculated. We also covered the ways to mitigate tax from the UT in our ‘recommend and justify’ question on improving tax efficiency. |
| Recommend and justify a range of suitable actions that Jon and Elaine could take to ensure that their children will receive their respective assets on second death, whilst protecting the surviving spouse during their lifetime. | It was clear from the case study that both Jon and Elaine wished to ensure that their respective children ultimately inherit their estate on second death, while continuing to provide for each other during their lifetimes. Although we did not present this as a specific “recommend and justify” question in our analysis, we had emphasised the importance of reviewing their wills, considering mutual wills incorporating an IPDI trust, and the potential use of DGTs. These were the key points required to achieve full marks on this question. |
| State the key benefits for Jon and Elaine of using an investment platform for their portfolio. | Whenever administration of investments is an issue, candidates should consider platforms (and possibly DFM for wealthy clients). Full model answers were provided to this question in our analysis. |
| Explain to Jon and Elaine any restrictions that might apply to the use of their lasting powers of attorney. | We had provided generic details of Lasting Powers of Attorney. We hope candidates were able to select the relevant information and adapt it to Jon and Elaine’s circumstances. |
| Identify the information a financial adviser would require, in respect of the existing income protection insurance policy, to assess its continuing suitability for Jon. | Whilst we had not covered this specific question in our analysis our email support day Q&A document had covered a question on the factors to consider around the suitability of the IP policy which covered most of the marks available. |
| Identify eight key issues that a financial adviser should discuss with Jon and Elaine at their next annual review. | A ‘discussion at the next annual review question’ is typically the last question on the R06 exam. As usual a lot of preprepared answers would have picked up marks here so we hope candidates were able to end the exam well with full marks. |
Chartered Insurance Institute (2026). R06 – Financial planning practice: January 2026 Examination Guide. Retrieved from www.cii.co.uk.
Summary
Overall, this was a typical R06 exam. As expected, a general fact-finding question on Case Study 1 opened the paper, the key subject areas highlighted in the case study were all tested in the usual format and the exam concluded with an annual review-style question on Case Study 2.
This paper reinforced the importance of candidates understanding the structure of the R06 exam, analysing past papers and model answers for commonly tested question types as well as the importance of using a training provider case study analysis. Candidates using our analysis would have been provided with all the content needed to pass the exam and most questions were covered in the exact format they appeared in the exam.
Grab the resources you need!
In R06, it’s not just what you know – it’s how you apply it to the case study. Curious how we structure an R06 case study analysis? Take a look at our free taster.
* The CII has updated their retention policy and now only provides the last two exam papers. Older papers referenced in this article may no longer be available on the CII website.
