How Often Should You Destroy Your Documents?

Document destruction is crucial to the efficiency and organization of your company. But not knowing when to toss out records leads to unnecessary hoarding and ultimately leads to disorganization. You don’t want to throw away something you could need in the near future, but do you really need those boxes of 10 year old pay stubs? Creating and maintaining a retention schedule will fix a lot of problems -- so how often should you destroy documents?

Well, the answer is: there’s not just one answer. It’s dependent on your industry, the type of document and its sensitivity. It’s crucial to consult your legal department as well as document destruction professionals like R4 Services in order to plan out an effective retention schedule. However, here we’ll go over some common document types and how long you should wait before disposing of them.

Documents that aren’t frequently renewed or that have to do with your business’ integrity are important to keep.

• Pension Plans
• Board Minutes
• Permits
• Shareholder agreements
• Social security cards
• Birth certificates
• Death certificates
• Business license
• Property records
• Passports

Throw out frequently renewed documentation. Note that it’s important to keep updated versions of the following.

• Insurance policies

• Retirement plan documents
• Social security statements
• Tax documents (about 7 years old)
• Credit card receipts/statements

Keeping documents too long or disposing of them too quickly can potentially both land you in legal hot water. It’s a bit of a balancing act and the key is to find the sweet spot right in the middle. R4 Services’ records experts will help your company develop a retention schedule that works best for you. Find out more about our services.