Section 1: 30–40%T3

Retirement and Personal Financial Planning

Exam insight

TCP has you advising clients on retirement vehicles and personal finances, weighing today's rates against tomorrow's. The work spans traditional versus Roth accounts, the timing of conversions, RMD rules, Social Security taxation, the saver's credit, insurance, and cash flow.

What AICPA wants you to know

1Compare traditional and Roth IRAs on deductibility, taxation of distributions, and required distributions.
2Evaluate Roth conversions and the bracket conditions that make them attractive.
3Apply required minimum distribution rules beginning at age 73.
4Determine the taxable portion of Social Security benefits using provisional income.
5Identify the saver's credit and the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty exceptions.
6Integrate insurance, risk management, net worth, and cash-flow analysis into a financial plan.

Patterns in this topic

The exam re-skins the same archetypes. Recognize these here, then drill them in the Pattern Lab.

The Retirement VehicleMatch the account to the rate: Roth grows tax-free with no lifetime RMDs, traditional defers then is taxed, and conversions fill the low brackets.

Exam tip

Study smarter: before you expand each card, cover the screen and try to recall what the concept means from its title alone. Retrieving it from memory builds the recall the exam actually tests, and it beats re-reading.