Annual Payslip Optimisation Checklist

Chapter 4's whole argument is that a big share of the value available to an employed reader is already sitting inside the payslip and benefits package — it just needs claiming. Run through this once a year, ideally around your pay review or the start of the tax year, to make sure none of it's being left on the table.

This year's review

Tick off each item as you confirm it, add any notes, then save. The next review starts fresh once this one is saved.

Review date

Confirmed you're claiming the full employer pension match

Check your contribution rate against the maximum your employer will match — anything below that line is unclaimed pay.

Confirmed your ISA (or local equivalent) allowance is prioritised over taxable investing

Check this year's allowance and how much of it you've used before directing new money into a taxable account.

Checked salary sacrifice availability

Pension, cycle-to-work, electric vehicle, or childcare schemes — each can reduce tax and National Insurance if offered.

Reviewed the full employee benefits portal

Death-in-service, private medical, wellbeing allowances, share schemes — benefits go unused simply because nobody looks.

Checked your pay against the market rate for your role

Worth doing before a review or negotiation conversation — see Chapter 4's section on negotiating pay.

Notes (optional)

Review history

Every saved review appears here, most recent first.