Salary sacrifice
Re-run the higher-rate and ANI trade-offs
Autumn is a good point to decide whether a late-year pension increase is fixing a real threshold problem or just looking neat on a spreadsheet.
Check the payroll and pension choices before winter
Tax code drift
Check for payroll mess while there is time to fix it
Second jobs, new benefits, new employers and odd bonus months can all create avoidable confusion if you leave the payslip review too late.
Use autumn to watch policy changes without overreacting
Budget context
Translate announcements into actions, not panic
Use the current-year updates pages to work out what actually changes now, what is only proposed, and which calculators or guides need reopening.
Business and admin
Revisit the Self Assessment and reserve plan
If you have side income or self-employed earnings, autumn is the right time to check the reserve pot before January suddenly becomes close.
Review the investing plan before year-end noise takes over
Wrapper fit
Check whether the account structure still makes sense
Autumn is a good moment to revisit ISA, GIA and pension flow rather than waiting until March and trying to do all the thinking at once.
Portfolio role
Check whether the ETF sleeve is still doing the right job
If the portfolio has drifted into a US tilt, a yield chase, or a too-clever modular setup by accident, now is when to notice.