The CFP® Advanced Planning study package
Tax, retirement, estate, and the psychology of financial planning — the four domains that carry the heaviest weight and the hardest integration. Every figure versioned to its tax year. One full domain is free, no card required.
4
Principal Knowledge domains
190+
Practice questions
~150 hrs
Guided study plan
Everything in the Advanced Planning package
Domain-mapped study notes
Tax, retirement, estate, and behavioural notes with the calculations worked in full — RMDs, basis and step-up, Social Security timing, trust taxation — every figure carrying the tax year it applies to.
4 domains · 71 readings
Case-anchored question bank
The integration items that decide the exam: a single client fact pattern tested across tax, retirement, and estate at once, each answer explained.
190+ questions
Full-length mock exams
Timed mocks in the real two-session shape, weighted toward the heavier retirement and tax domains the way the live exam weights them.
4 mocks · real format
Spaced-repetition flashcards
Contribution limits, bracket thresholds, and estate exclusions on instant recall — re-versioned every tax year so you never drill a stale number.
Updated each tax year
Performance analytics
Readiness by domain across both study parts, so you can see whether the marks are leaking in the material or in the integration between it.
Benchmarked vs peers
Integration traps, called out
The cross-domain traps — a Roth conversion that detonates an IRMAA bracket, a gift that undoes a step-up — are flagged inside the reading where they strike, with the correct treatment worked.
Flagged in the reading
Advanced Planning topic reference
Review this topic reference together with its source and applicable exam cycle.
- Retirement Savings & Income Planning37%
- Tax Planning29%
- Estate Planning20%
- Psychology of Financial Planning14%
CFP Board · Principal Knowledge Topics (2021 Practice Analysis) — domain weights renormalised across this study part
Advanced Planning curriculum
4 domains · ~150 hrs
- Retirement Savings & Income Planning37%
- Tax Planning29%
- Estate Planning20%
- Psychology of Financial Planning14%
Source: CFP Board · Principal Knowledge Topics (2021 Practice Analysis) — domain weights renormalised across this study part
A worked study example
What claiming early actually costs
The primary insurance amount (PIA) is payable in full only at full retirement age. Claim early and it is cut by 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before FRA, then 5/12 of 1% per additional month.1
At an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 is 60 months early: 36 × 5/9% = 20%, plus 24 × 5/12% = 10% — a 30% permanent reduction.2 Delaying past FRA earns 8% a year to age 70, and for a married couple the higher earner’s decision also sets the survivor benefit.3
- 1
The two-tier reduction
Candidates apply one rate across all 60 months and land on the wrong figure. The tiers are where the mark is.
- 2
The arithmetic, shown
We run both tiers to the 30% so you can reproduce it under time rather than recall a rounded number.
- 3
The recommendation, not just the maths
The exam asks what you would advise. The survivor benefit is usually why delaying wins — and why the item is not a pure calculation.
Choose your Advanced Planning plan
Same source-cited content in every tier — pick how far you want the support to go. Move up anytime and pay only the difference.
Advanced Planning questions, answered
About the CFP® charterIs Advanced Planning a separate CFP® exam?
No. The CFP® exam is one comprehensive test across all eight Principal Knowledge Topics. Advanced Planning is the second half of our study split — it assumes the Foundations material and moves to the domains that carry the heaviest weight.
What does Advanced Planning cover?
Four of CFP Board’s eight domains: tax planning, retirement savings and income planning, estate planning, and the psychology of financial planning — 71 readings across 26 chapters.
Why is retirement weighted so heavily?
Retirement savings and income planning is the largest single domain on the exam, and it is where most integration items originate — a retirement decision that changes a tax bracket, a Medicare premium, or an estate. Our plan front-loads it for that reason.
How current are the tax figures?
Every limit, bracket, and threshold carries its tax year and is re-versioned annually, so the numbers you drill are the numbers on your exam form.
Can I upgrade later?
Yes. Move up a tier at any time and pay only the difference — your progress and notes carry over.
Try a topic before you decide.
One full Advanced Planning topic is free — notes, questions, and the tools — so you can judge the material against how you actually study before paying anything.
Start free