1.1 The Segregated Funds and Annuities Module: Format, Weights & Study Plan

The Segregated Funds and Annuities Module

Quick Answer: The LLQP Segregated Funds and Annuities exam has 35 multiple-choice questions (30 scored plus 5 unscored pilot questions) and a 75-minute time limit, and you need 60% (at least 18 of the 30 scored questions) to pass. It tests one competency: recommend segregated funds, individual annuities and group pension plans adapted to the client's needs and situation.

The Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) is the harmonized national program for anyone who wants to sell life insurance and related products in Canada. The curriculum is set by the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO), the forum of provincial and territorial licensing regulators, and each province administers the exams. The program has four modules:

The five pilot questions are new items being tested for future exams. You will not know which ones they are, so answer every question carefully.

Getting to the Exam

1. Complete an approved LLQP course. Only a course provider approved by your regulator can certify you. FSRA estimates about 100 hours for the full program, and the Alberta Insurance Council treats the certification as valid for one year.
2. Register with your provincial regulator or its exam administrator. In Ontario, the exams are administered by Durham College and are available only in person. In Alberta, you may write all four 75-minute modules on the same day or spread them over a year.
3. Write the exam. Some regulators supply the approved study material electronically during the exam (Alberta provides it on an e-reader and allows no other materials), so check your province's rules. Exam fees and booking are handled by each regulator or administrator.
4. Pass each module separately. Scores are not averaged across modules.
5. Apply for the licence. In Ontario you have one year from the date you first pass to apply.

Rewrite rules (Ontario example): After a failed exam, FSRA allows three supplemental exams, with a mandatory 24-hour wait between attempts. Failing the fourth attempt overall triggers a one-year wait and a requirement to retake the prerequisite courses. Other provinces set their own limits.

Quebec applies the same curriculum through the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), with a Quebec version of the ethics module.

The Competency and Its Weights

The whole module tests a single competency (CISRO code 01-313). The curriculum splits it into four components and eleven sub-components:

The question counts are estimates from the weights; the exact mix on your form can vary.

How the Questions Are Written

CISRO's published sample questions for this module are short client scenarios, not definitions. Typical patterns:

• Reading a client's situation: a list of assets and debts, and you must infer the client's risk tolerance (all money in GICs and savings suggests low risk tolerance).
• Calculations: future value of expenses with inflation, guarantee reductions after a withdrawal, adjusted cost base (ACB), refunds on cancellation, and Assuris protection.
• Choosing a product: which annuity gives the highest income while meeting the client's survivor and estate wishes; which group plans are contributory capital accumulation plans.
• Process and service: who must complete the application, who can claim when the owner is incapacitated (the attorney under a power of attorney), and what a fund switch does to the guarantees.

A useful formula from the official samples is the future value of today's dollars:

$FV = PV \times (1 + i)^n$

For example, expenses of $72,000 a year growing at 3% inflation for 7 years become $72{,}000 \times 1.03^7 = 88{,}551$ dollars. If the client expects to spend 40% less in retirement, first-year retirement expenses are $88{,}551 \times 0.60 = 53{,}131$ dollars.

A Study Plan That Matches the Weights

Test yourself as you go with the free LLQP Segregated Funds and Annuities practice questions, and review the LLQP Life Insurance study guide for the overlapping topics of needs analysis, beneficiaries and taxation.