Every month Professional Paraplanner teams up with Brand Financial Training to provide a series of questions from across the CII syllabus to test your knowledge .
Whether you are preparing for your exams, or simply want to keep your knowledge up-to-date, Professional Paraplanner’s Development Zone can help.
These questions relate to examinable Tax year 25/26, examinable by the CII until 31 August 2026.
You will find the answers separately under the Development Zone tab on the Professional Paraplanner website.
We hope you find our Q&A useful in achieving your qualifications.
QUESTIONS
1. Historically, UK banks and building societies were developed from the consumer need to
A. receive a return on short term deposits.
B. make a profit for shareholders using savings to make long term investment.
C. have a safe but accessible place to keep their money.
D. turn short-term savings into longer term lending.
2. Caroline invested £12,000 into a unit trust which was worth £18,020 after six years. What compound rate of return has she achieved?
A. 7.01%
B. 5.01%
C. 6.21%
D. 6.72%
3. Erica is considering Inheritance Tax mitigation and wonders whether trusts may help with her planning. She should be aware that a transfer into (Tick all that apply.)
A. an interest in possession trust is a potentially exempt transfer.
B. a disabled trust is a chargeable lifetime transfer.
C. a bare trust is a potentially exempt transfer.
D. a discretionary trust could trigger a 20% tax charge.
4. Sarah is retiring after 20 years’ service in a 1/60th defined benefit pension scheme. Her final pensionable salary is £48,000. Sarah can commute part of her pension for a pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) of 3/80th of final pensionable salary for each year of service. The commutation factor is 12:1. Should Sarah take all of her PCLS entitlement, her reduced pension will be
A. £12,000 p.a.
B. £13,000 p.a.
C. £15,000 p.a.
D. £16,000 p.a.
5. At least how many days’ notice must an insurer give if they want to make an amendment to a mortgage payment protection policy?
A. 30 days.
B. 60 days.
C. 90 days.
D. 120 days.
6. A client has indicated to their investment manager that their main objective is capital appreciation. Which of the following is typical of this strategy?
A. A cautious risk profile with an unwillingness to invest in the stock market.
B. A short time horizon where cash products will be most appropriate.
C. Growth will usually be achieved from capital gains.
D. A concern only for maximising income in retirement.
7. When considering the use of debentures, an investment adviser should be aware that they
A. are established by contract.
B. are secured by a fixed or floating charge.
C. have an interest rate linked to a money market.
D. offer the holder the option of converting into ordinary shares.
8. Barney appointed his son Nick as his attorney under an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) in 2005. What must Nick do if he believes that Barney is losing mental capacity?
A. Arrange for a Lasting Power of Attorney to be drawn up.
B. Stop acting on behalf of Barney.
C. Arrange for the EPA to be registered with the Court of Protection.
D. Contact the Office of the Public Guardian.
9. Which of the following statements regarding the key elements of the MCOB definition of a lifetime mortgage is false?
A. Borrowers should be above a certain age.
B. There may or may not be a mortgage term.
C. Repayment can be sought at any time.
D. Potential deferral of interest repayments.
10. MCOB rules state that early repayment charges must
A. be able to be expressed as a cash value.
B. be charged pre-completion.
C. always extend past an initial offer period.
D. never reduce throughout the mortgage term.
