CRPC Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CRPC facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. A 70-year-old retiree has all her savings in certificates of deposit earning 1.5%. The GREATEST long-term risk she faces is: → Purchasing power (inflation) risk
2. What is the second step in the retirement planning process? → Gathering client data, including goals and expectations
3. Which of the following best describes the 'bucket strategy' in retirement income planning? → Dividing assets into short-term liquid, medium-term balanced, and long-term growth buckets
4. A surviving spouse inherits an IRA and elects spousal rollover treatment. What is the earliest the spouse must begin taking RMDs from the rolled-over account? → April 1 following the year the surviving spouse turns 73
5. Which type of life insurance is most commonly used in a retirement income plan to provide both a death benefit and a tax-advantaged accumulation vehicle? → Permanent cash value life insurance
6. A widow age 60 wants to claim survivor benefits. How does early claiming affect her benefit compared to claiming at her full retirement age? → Benefit is reduced to 71.5% of the deceased spouse's PIA
7. Which type of annuity rider allows a retiree to receive guaranteed minimum income based on a benefit base that grows even when the market declines? → Guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB)
8. Which of the following best describes a 'hybrid' long-term care insurance product linked to a life insurance policy? → A life insurance policy with an accelerated benefit rider for long-term care expenses
9. Which of the following retirement plans is NOT subject to ERISA's fiduciary standards? → Governmental 457(b) plan for a state university
10. Which of the following is a key characteristic that distinguishes a defined benefit pension plan from a defined contribution plan? → The plan specifies the benefit amount the employee will receive at retirement.
11. Under ERISA, what is the maximum number of years an employer can require for cliff vesting in a defined contribution plan? → 3 years
12. Which type of pension plan requires actuarial assumptions and places the investment risk on the employer? → Defined benefit plan
13. Under ERISA, what is the maximum period a defined benefit plan may use for final average pay calculations? → 5 consecutive years
14. Moving averages, graphs, and statistics regarding the supply and demand of stocks are examples of what kind of analysis? → Technical analysis
15. Erikson's 'ego integrity vs. despair' stage is most directly relevant to retirement because it involves: → Reviewing one's life with satisfaction versus regret as major roles conclude
16. A retiree wants guaranteed lifetime income but also desires the ability to leave a death benefit to heirs. Which annuity feature best addresses both goals? → Life with period-certain option
17. A 58-year-old client wants to retire at 62 with $80,000/year in today's dollars. Using a 3% inflation rate, what is the approximate income needed at retirement? → $90,000
18. What happens to delayed retirement credits (DRCs) earned by a worker who dies before claiming Social Security, with respect to survivor benefits? → Survivor benefits include the DRCs earned through the month of the worker's death
19. A surviving divorced spouse wants to claim Social Security survivor benefits. What is the minimum duration the marriage must have lasted? → 10 years
20. What does the term 'normal cost' mean in the context of defined benefit pension funding? → Cost attributed to the current year's benefit accruals
21. An IRA owner's sole beneficiary is a spouse who is 15 years younger. Which IRS life expectancy table should be used to calculate the owner's RMDs? → Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table
22. A client turns 65 while still covered by her employer's group health plan (employer has 25 employees). What is her best Medicare strategy? → Enroll in Part A and Part B immediately because employer coverage is secondary
23. What is a hybrid long-term care product? → A combination of life insurance or annuity with LTC benefits
24. What is the exclusion ratio used to calculate for a non-qualified immediate annuity? → The tax-free portion of each payment as a return of after-tax cost basis
25. The fiduciary duty of care in retirement planning specifically requires that an advisor: → Act with the competence and diligence that a reasonable professional would exercise
26. A QTIP trust (Qualified Terminable Interest Property trust) is most commonly used to: → Provide income to a surviving spouse while controlling ultimate distribution of assets
27. What is a generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax designed to prevent? → Avoidance of estate taxes by skipping a generation of heirs
28. Which provision in a variable annuity allows the contract owner to withdraw up to 10% annually without incurring surrender charges? → Free withdrawal allowance
29. When assessing a client's retirement readiness, which ratio compares projected retirement income from all sources to projected retirement expenses? → Income coverage ratio
30. Which estate planning tool allows an individual to transfer assets to a trust during their lifetime while retaining control and avoiding probate? → Revocable living trust