For the final exam Q&A of the week, the Brand Financial Training technical team addresses two of the most burning questions that CII exam candidates have been asking.
Q1: When will the Autumn budget changes be tested by the CII?
Key dates are as follows:
30th January 2025
The discount on the Right to Buy scheme,
Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase of second homes, buy-to-let properties, and purchases by companies of residential property.
Changes to the Capital Gains Tax rate, specific to the 2024/2025 tax year.
The changes to QROPS.
2 March 2025.
Changes to the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers (PTM) levy
1 April 2025
Changes to residential Stamp Duty Land Tax rates.
Further changes
Other changes such as inheritance tax on pensions, the new residency-based regime, and Business and Agricultural Reliefs will not be included in exams until they are officially enacted into law. As a general rule, the CII state that changes resulting from the Finance Act that apply to a new tax year will be assessed by the CII starting 1 September each year.
The information above is taken from the CII’s Qualification Updates pages and also from a few email exchanges we have had with them. It’s essential to stay updated on the Qualification Updates for each unit and ensure you are using the correct tax tables all of which can be found on the CII website.
The good news is for all of you taking R06 next week is that you don’t need to worry yourself with any of these changes!
Q2: How reliable is AI for helping with exam revision?
A very topical question! As most of us know, AI can be extremely helpful but for use in very technical exam revision its reliability is questionable. We’ve tested ChatGPT in various ways such as asking specific technical questions. While it did produce technically correct content for some of the more basic concepts, we found a couple of significant issues: much of the information seemed to be based on last year’s tax rates/allowances, and some of the more technical areas generated inaccurate content. Additionally, we discovered that by rephrasing a question and challenging the output, you can often get the AI to change its answer – which didn’t fill us with any confidence.
While the information provided by AI is continually improving, its technical depth – especially for exams like the CII’s – cannot yet be fully relied upon. That said, AI still holds potential. Asking for clarification on subjects like ‘How does the pensions tapered annual allowance work?’ can provide a useful alternative explanation to the study text but you cannot yet trust its accuracy (for example in response to this question, the output stated the standard annual allowance as £40,000 even though it was increased to £60,000 from 2023/24). Without a solid understanding of the subject, it’s often difficult to assess the accuracy of its responses. Many established exam resource providers and specialised financial services websites offer more reliable content, and we believe these are the best options for now.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the five articles from Brand Financial Training published in Professional Paraplanner this week.
If you have any other questions you would like answered or help with your exam preparation and study, please get in touch via our website – details below.
About Brand Financial Training
Brand Financial Training provides a variety of immediately accessible free and paid learning resources to help candidates pass their CII exams. Their resource range ensures there is something that suits every style of learning including mock papers, calculation workbooks, videos, audio masterclasses, study notes and more. Visit Brand Financial Training at: https://brandft.co.uk
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