NISM Series XVII mock test
Retirement Adviser Certification Examination
The practice paper
Before you start
- 100 questions, 120 minutes. 1 mark each, and 25% off for a wrong answer — the same rules the real paper uses, so a question you cannot narrow down is better left blank.
- Questions are drawn to the syllabus weightages we have derived, because NISM publishes none for this examination.
- You can flag a question and come back to it. The clock does not stop.
- Nothing is saved. Close the tab and the attempt is gone.
The real examination
A practice paper for the Retirement Adviser certification — longevity and inflation risk, the products a retirement plan is built from, the planning process itself, the National Pension System in detail, measuring fund performance, drawdown strategies, health and estate considerations, and the four regulators a retirement plan touches. A hundred questions, negative marking of a quarter mark and a pass at 60.
- Questions
- 100
- Duration
- 120 min
- Pass mark
- 60/100
- Negative marking
- −25%
The certificate is valid for 3 years. Clearing this examination is the certification requirement for registration as a retirement adviser with PFRDA under the PFRDA (Retirement Adviser) Regulations, 2016, for persons advising subscribers on the National Pension System and retirement planning.
Syllabus and weightages
Nine units, weighted as we have derived them — NISM publishes no weightage table for this examination. The Retirement Planning Process alone is 20% of the paper — worth knowing before you decide where your week goes.
| Unit | Weight | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fundamental Concepts in Retirement Planning | 9% | 9 |
| 2. Financial Markets and Investment Products | 16% | 16 |
| 3. The Retirement Planning Process | 20% | 20 |
| 4. Retirement Planning Products — the National Pension System | 15% | 15 |
| 5. Evaluating Fund Performance and Fund Selection | 11% | 11 |
| 6. Retirement Planning Products — Other Investment Products | 3% | 3 |
| 7. Retirement Planning Strategies | 4% | 4 |
| 8. Special Considerations in Retirement | 10% | 10 |
| 9. Regulations and Regulators | 12% | 12 |
Common questions
Is this the actual NISM examination?
No. It is a practice paper written by CAPITA1 from the syllabus NISM publishes. The real examination is conducted by NISM and can only be taken through them.
Does passing this get me certified?
No. Only NISM certifies, through its own examination. This tells you where you stand before you book it.
What score do I need in the real exam?
60 out of 100, which is 60%. A wrong answer costs 25% of the marks for that question, and an unanswered one costs nothing — so a guess you have no basis for is worse than leaving it.
Do I get the same questions each time?
No. A fresh paper is drawn from the bank each attempt, weighted to the same syllabus split.