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Pension and Retirement Planning - R04
Please note that our material has now been updated. The R04 2012/13 material (for exams post 1st September) is now available as a MP3 download by clicking on the "Buy Now" button below. CDs are no longer available.
On Download 
Price: £40
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Size: 13 modules, approximately 4 1/2 hours of material
Download time: approx 6 minutes over high speed broadband
Please note: After purchase you will receive an email that includes the download link. If this doesn't appear in your inbox within a few minutes please check your spam folder.
The key areas of each module is shown below.
| Module 1 (11 minutes) RO4: the exam and preparing for it |
Regulated Diploma exam structure . The R04 exam . multiple-choice questions . exam preparation . 7 golden rules for the exam |
| Module 2 (15 minutes) Political, economic and social environmental factors |
Government pension reforms . attitudes towards pensions . the aging population . corporate responsibilities . pensions incentives / disincentives . the 3 main pensions: state, defined benefits, defined contribution |
| Module 3 (25 minutes) HMRC Regime – part 1 |
Relevant UK individuals . tax relief . relevant excess contribution . normal minimum pension age . PCLS . taxation of death benefits . tax treatment of pension funds . the four tax sanctions . EFRBS . QROPS |
| Module 4 (23 minutes) HMRC Regime – part 2 |
Annual allowance . pension input/output amounts . BCEs . lifetime allowance . protected pension age |
| Module 5 (11 minutes) HMRC Regime – part 3 |
Primary protection . enhanced protection |
| Module 6 (17 minutes) Pensions law and regulation |
Pension Acts . the three compensation schemes . duties of pension scheme trustees . European legislation . pensions and divorce: earmarking, off-setting, sharing |
| Module 7 (12 minutes) Defined benefit schemes |
Options for early leavers: refund of contributions, preserved benefits, revaluation rates, transfer, transfer analysis system |
| Module 8 (28 minutes) Defined contribution pension schemes |
Types of DC scheme . contributions and tax relief . statutory money purchase illustrations . contracting out and protected rights . benefits on retirement, ill-health and death . stakeholder pensions . NEST |
| Module 9 (27 minutes) Drawing pension benefits – part 1 |
Secured pensions: scheme pensions, lifetime annuity . what affects annuity rates? . with-profit and unit linked annuities . advantages/disadvantages of secured pensions . short term annuities . income withdrawal . advantages/disadvantages of income withdrawal . drawdown to drawdown transfer |
| Module 10 (15 minutes) Drawing pension benefits – part 2 |
Phased retirement . advantages/disadvantages of phased retirement . type A and type B critical yields . trivial commutation |
| Module 11 (20 minutes) State pensions |
NI contributions . state pension age . SERPS . S2P . pension forecasts . pension credit . contracting out |
| Module 12 (19 minutes) Retirement planning |
Evaluating an individual’s aims and objectives . investment asset classes . alternative retirement income . regular reviews . main characteristics of self investment |
| Module 13 (19 minutes) Crammer module |
This consists of the summaries of the previous modules. |