A Look at Recent Past Papers for the CII AF7 Exam – July 2024
In this article, we are taking a quick look at the questions asked in the last four exam papers of the CII’s Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning AF7 exam paper – this is the exam on Pension Transfers.
This article is correct as at 16 July 2024.
This will be useful reading for you if you are preparing to sit this exam in the near future; it will help you to focus your revision on the areas that are likely to be examined.
| Triage services. | Content of a personalised charges communication, | Contingent charging and carve-outs. | Steps to consider when carrying out an APTA. |
| Factors to consider when assessing capacity for loss. | Factors to consider in terms of GMP benefits when recommending a transfer. | CETV calculation process and statutory right to transfer. | Guaranteed annuity rates. |
| Impact of PPF on benefits. | Information trustees must provide for a CETV request. | Employer covenants. | Risks associated with a defined contribution scheme. |
| Information required when advising whether to accept guaranteed annuity rate. | Impact on CETV of increases in inflation and gilt yields. | Sequencing risk and mitigation. | Pension transfers and IHT. |
| Further information from the scheme administrator. | Information required from the customer to advise on transfer. | Means of meeting objectives. | Ill health early retirement qualifying criteria. |
| APTA and death benefits. | Factors which support a retain recommendation. | Reasons to transfer one scheme and not the other. | Lifetime allowance treatment of death benefits. |
| Reasons for advice not to transfer. | Cashflow modelling and stress tests. | Cashflow modelling benefits and limitations. | Reasons for advice not to transfer. |
| Factors to consider when determining how best to meet income shortfall. | Reasons to transfer one scheme and not the other. | Information required to advise on a suitable investment strategy. | Pension protection fund benefits. |
| Reasons to transfer one scheme and not the other. | Partial annuity purchase with transfer value. | Further information from the scheme administrator. | Information required from the scheme administrator. |
| Pros and cons of drawdown versus short-term annuity. | Drawdown death benefits. | Factors to consider when considering a transfer recommendation. | Capacity for loss and the factors to take into account when assessing it. |
| Spousal bypass trusts. | Reasons to pay class 3 NICs. | Spousal bypass trusts. | Justification for the recommendation. |
| Reasons to pay class 3 NICs. |
Here we take a look at the questions asked in the last four exam papers for #CII #AF7. Share on X
As you can see from the above, there are running themes which come up time and time again. It is odds on that you are going to be asked to justify a recommendation. Sometimes you will be asked to make the recommendation, at others you may be give the recommendation and asked to justify it. On several occasions recently, we have also had case study clients with multiple DB schemes and been asked to justify transferring one and retaining the other.
Fact finding and factors to consider when making a recommendation are other regulars, particularly fact finding in relation to the scheme itself, which has come up a few times of late.
It is quite likely that there will be something on death benefits, though how these questions will be phrased following the abolition of the lifetime allowance remains to be seen. Practical skills such as cashflow modelling and development of an investment strategy also come up on a regular basis. There is quite often a COBS/ general compliance question and curveballs such as GMP and employer covenants have also come up. Calculation of a transfer value and the factors that impact this is a regular feature and class 3 NICs have also come up on multiple occasions lately.
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