IRA exam questions — contribution phaseouts or distribution rules tripping anyone else up?
I'm studying for a financial planning certification and the IRA section has way more nuance than I expected. I keep mixing up Roth vs. traditional contribution phaseout income ranges, and the RMD rule changes from the SECURE Act added another layer. Two weeks into this section and I'm scoring around 70% on IRA-specific practice questions. That's okay but I want to be closer to 85% before the real exam.
The early withdrawal penalty exceptions are particularly tricky — there are 12 or 13 of them depending on how you count, and the exam loves edge cases like substantially equal periodic payments and qualified higher education expenses. The 5-year rule distinctions between Roth IRA contributions and Roth conversions are another area where I keep slipping up.
For anyone who's passed the CFP or a similar exam recently — how heavily did IRA mechanics actually appear? I'm wondering if I'm overweighting this at the expense of estate planning and insurance, which I've barely touched yet.
The Roth conversion 5-year rule versus the Roth contribution 5-year rule is a classic trap and it appeared twice on my exam in different formats. Make sure you can explain both without mixing them up under pressure.
70% at 2 weeks in is right on track. Estate planning is worth revisiting but if IRA is a weak spot, staying on it until you're at 80%+ is the right call before moving on.
IRA questions made up roughly 12-15% of my exam. The phaseout ranges and contribution limits were tested more directly than I expected — not just as backdrop to planning scenarios but as the primary focus in several questions.
Don't skip inherited IRA rules post-SECURE Act. The 10-year rule and eligible designated beneficiary exceptions were both directly tested and a lot of candidates underestimate that subsection.