CFP® Exam Retirement Savings and Income Planning Practice Questions

Retirement Savings and Income Planning is 18% of the CFP® exam, the largest domain. Practice original questions on needs analysis, Social Security, plan rules, distributions and income strategies, each with the full working.

Take the full timed CFP mock exam

170 four-choice questions in two timed 3-hour sections, with short scenarios and a case study in each, weighted like the real exam, with a score by domain and an explanation for every answer. 30 of the 170 questions are retirement planning.

Or try the free retirement planning drill
  • 62 original retirement planning questions with explained answers
  • 18% of the exam: domain F, CFP Board topics F.44–F.53
  • 30 of the 170 questions in our full mock
Free sample · Question 1 of 3Retirement Savings and Income Planning

A company's nonqualified deferred compensation plan must comply with Section 409A. Which event may trigger payment of deferred amounts under that section?

What our retirement planning questions cover

  • Retirement needs analysis with inflation-adjusted annuity-due calculations
  • Social Security claiming ages, spousal and survivor benefits, the earnings test and Medicare enrollment
  • Defined benefit, cash balance, profit-sharing, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), SEP and SIMPLE plans; traditional and Roth IRAs
  • Vesting, coverage, top-heavy rules and plan loans
  • Nonqualified deferred compensation, incentive and nonqualified stock options and restricted stock
  • Required minimum distributions, the 10% early-distribution tax and its exceptions, rollovers and Roth conversions
  • Inherited IRA rules, net unrealized appreciation, withdrawal-rate and income strategies, business succession
Line drawing of a porch with two rocking chairs, a watering can, a potted plant and a calendar

This list is our own summary of the domain, written for practice. CFP Board publishes the official list of principal knowledge topics.

Drill retirement planning, then sit the full mock

Take the full timed CFP mock exam

170 four-choice questions in two timed 3-hour sections, with short scenarios and a case study in each, weighted like the real exam, with a score by domain and an explanation for every answer. 30 of the 170 questions are retirement planning.

Or try the free retirement planning drill

Rules the questions test most

  1. Required minimum distributions begin at age 73 for people born from 1951 through 1959 and at age 75 for people born in 1960 or later. A Roth IRA owner never has to take RMDs.
  2. The 10% additional tax on early distributions has exceptions; separation from service in or after the year you turn 55 is one of them for qualified plans, not IRAs.
  3. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claiming after full retirement age earns delayed retirement credits of 8% a year until age 70.
  4. Most non-spouse beneficiaries of an IRA inherited after 2019 must empty it by the end of the tenth year after the owner’s death.
  5. An incentive stock option has no regular tax at exercise; if the shares are held more than two years from grant and one year from exercise, the whole gain is long-term capital gain.

Start the free retirement planning drill · Full CFP mock exam · Case study drill · Mixed drill

Common questions

What is the largest domain on the CFP exam?

Retirement Savings and Income Planning, at 18% of the CFP® exam (about 30 of 170 questions). Investment Planning follows at 17% and General Principles of Financial Planning at 15%.

Which retirement rules come up most?

Plan types and their contribution and eligibility rules, required minimum distributions, the 10% early-distribution tax and its exceptions, rollovers, Roth conversions, inherited IRAs, Social Security claiming and retirement needs calculations.

Take the full timed CFP mock exam

170 four-choice questions in two timed 3-hour sections, with short scenarios and a case study in each, weighted like the real exam, with a score by domain and an explanation for every answer. 30 of the 170 questions are retirement planning.

Or try the free retirement planning drill

More CFP exam domains

Domain weights and exam format: CFP Board: What you’ll be tested on (domains and weights) · CFP Board: Exam format, checked November 2026.

Game Assessment Prep is an independent practice site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or a registered education program of CFP Board, and CFP Board does not review or endorse these questions. Every question is original; none is taken from CFP Board practice exams or other CFP Board materials.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.