CFP® study notes that run the client’s numbers
Every reading mapped to a CFP Board Principal Knowledge Topic, with the planning math — RMDs, basis, Social Security timing, insurance need — worked against a real client fact pattern rather than defined and left there.
Sourced to the domain, never paraphrased
Each note names the Principal Knowledge Topic it answers and the rule behind it. When a number matters — a contribution limit, a bracket, a step-up in basis — we run it, not gesture at it.
Eight domains, one client
Tax, retirement, estate, insurance, and investment notes share the same client fact patterns, so you carry one integrated planning model into the exam instead of eight disconnected ones.
Tax figures versioned to your exam year
Limits, brackets, and thresholds carry the tax year they apply to. You never revise a stale number and then meet the current one on exam day.
All eight domains, across both study parts
The CFP® exam is a single comprehensive test. We split the eight Principal Knowledge Topics into two study parts so each is built before it is combined. Open either part to see its package.
One note, in full
What claiming early actually costs a client
A worker’s primary insurance amount (PIA) is payable in full only at full retirement age (FRA). Claim early and the benefit is reduced by 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before FRA, then 5/12 of 1% for each additional month.
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. Delaying past FRA instead earns delayed retirement credits of 8% per year to age 70. The exam tests the arithmetic, but the recommendation turns on longevity and the survivor benefit the higher earner leaves behind.