According to the blueprints the law sections don't have any analysis check marks, and analysis are usually SIM targets, but obviously no guarantees.
Hammer some law MCQs in study mode so you can see the types of questions they might ask and the potentially correct answers.
Considering its 20% of the exam, you are likely to see something on it, but you can still pass without knowing law.
But you better bring your A game on tax. A lot of the law stuff sort of makes common sense. If your review book uses bolded words to highlight topics skim the sections for the keywords. 1933/1934 lawsuits, defenses, and exemptions from registering for a stock issue were all highlighted as frequently tested in my course.
I believe pensions is more of a FAR topic, but retirement contributions and distributions are for sure tax topics.
I'll jot down some of the relevant stuff as a refresher for myself and others.
Roth – Not deductible, not taxable.
IRA deductible and taxable on distribution. IRAs have RMDs, Roth does not. (Age 70.5)
If you have non-deductible basis in an IRA it alters the taxability on distributions in proportion to return of basis.(Same rules apply to pensions and annuities)
SEP, Keogh, and SIMPLE IRA are available to self employed. 401k generally restricted to payroll types of employment.
Keogh limited to 25% of net self-employment income after Keogh contribution and half self employment tax. To prevent redundant calculation you just use 20% of net self employment for max Keogh contribution up to 54k. SEP is also 54k max. Simple max is 12,5k.
SEP KEOGH do not reduce self employment tax, but are an above the line deductions reducing taxable income dollar for dollar.
10% penalty for early distribution from IRA except for certain exceptions, medical exceeding 10% of AGI(not reimbursed), 10k for first time home buyer, etc
Non-taxable pension/annuity/IRA distributions are included on 1040 in the (a) box, but excluded from the (b) taxable box. I made a mistake on a practice SIM and did not include ROTH distribution in (a).
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