The objective of Retirement Income Planning (AF8) is to develop and demonstrate the advanced skills needed for advising on income planning to those in and approaching retirement.
At the end of this unit, candidates should be able to advise clients on income planning approaching and during retirement, including later life.
There are three written coursework assignments, each typically 2,000 to 3,000 words.
The BTS resources provide a structured study path through the AF8 unit.
We follow a simple model based on our proven STEP approach to planning your study: Study | Train | e-Learn | Practise
Below you will find an overview of the BTS approach with details of how the BTS materials can be used to support your learning. Due to the coursework format of this unit, we do not produce a study guide or offer a workshop. Instead, we have an e-Learning module to guide you through your studies.
You set your own pace. The e-Learning allows you to focus on the things you find challenging.
What is the BTS AF8 e-Learning like?
The BTS AF8 e-Learning module is an online learning experience. It consists of:
Key features of BTS AF8 e-Learning:
After self-study using the CII materials, the next step is to work through the BTS AF8 e-Learning module.
The module includes an introduction course which covers how this assignment-based exam works and how it should be approached (to the best of BTS’ experience).
Also included are three courses based on each of the three assignments.
Each course sets out the basis of each assignment, do’s and don’t in terms of style and layout, plus frequently asked candidate questions and BTS answers.
Use the links to useful documents that you should familiarise yourself with before attempting to create your own assignments.
Find suggestions on financial planning tools that could be useful when constructing assignments, such as asset allocation and risk assessment tools.
Our AF8 study plan has been designed to encourage and support your planning as you work through the AF8 unit.
BTS study plans show you how to:
To view the full BTS study plan for AF8, you will need to create a free account on the BTS website. When you login you will have access to our Careers Zone, packed full of information and guidance to support your studies including study plans for every exam we support and online student-led forums so you can chat to others on the same journey.
“I liked the fact that BTS had broken their course down into sections focussing on each AF8 assignment, so whether you were identifying strengths and weaknesses in A1, suggesting changes pre-retirement in A2 or recommending an income strategy in A3, BTS were able to give very clear pointers around what sort of things to include within each assignment, without falling foul of CII’s plagiarism & collusion rules. It also meant that each section of the course was relevant and specifically aimed towards the assignment I was working on at the time, rather than just regurgitating the same information like you sometimes see with online courses. I essentially used the BTS course as a checklist when reading back through each of my assignments, and once I was happy that I’d covered every pointer that BTS provided, I then submitted the assignment to the CII. Both assignments came back with a pass grade, so BTS’s pointers clearly work!
Many thanks for BTS’s help with me getting AF8 over the line. I’m pretty sure I would be facing a full re-sit without your help, and I would highly recommend BTS’s AF8 course if anyone is looking for that extra bit of help in getting through this tricky advanced diploma unit.”
Below, you will find a range of recent articles providing insights, help and advice for this unit, we hope you find these useful. Remember if you have any questions on your journey feel free to get in touch with the BTS support team.
