FPSB Retirement & Tax Specialist study guide
FPSB Retirement & Tax Specialist · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The FPSB Retirement & Tax Specialist is a specialist credential offered within the certification ecosystem of Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB India), the body that describes its mission as setting and maintaining professional standards in financial planning, developing qualified professionals, and promoting ethical financial advice. The credential is aimed at practising financial planners and advisers who want to deepen their command of two closely linked areas: building retirement strategies for clients and applying tax rules to financial planning decisions. Its published domain weighting splits the syllabus evenly, with Retirement Planning at 50% and Tax Planning at 50%, so neither half can be carried by strength in the other. Because the two domains interact constantly - contribution and withdrawal sequencing, treatment of retirement income, and the timing of tax events across a client's lifecycle - candidates should expect questions that test judgement across both areas rather than isolated recall. Topics on this exam: Retirement Planning and Tax Planning. The FPSB Retirement & Tax Specialist study guide has 2 sections and about 787 words.
01Retirement Planning
Retirement Planning tests how a client converts earnings, savings, and entitlements into a sustainable lifetime income stream. The exam emphasizes funded status, decumulation mechanics, and the interaction of Social Security, pensions, and qualified accounts rather than product sales. A retirement plan starts with a funded-status projection: required annual spending minus guaranteed income (Social Security, pensions, annuities), divided by a sustainable withdrawal rate. Stress-test the gap with inflation, longevity, and poor early returns.
400 words, about 2 min02Tax Planning
Tax Planning tests how retirement decisions change a client’s tax liability across accumulation, distribution, and estate transfer. The exam focuses on marginal bracket management, account titling, and the timing of income rather than memorizing forms. Taxable income is gross income less above-the-line deductions and the standard or itemized deduction. Traditional IRA and 401(k) distributions are ordinary income; qualified Roth distributions are tax-free when the five-year rule and a qualifying event are met.
387 words, about 2 min