When do you have too much paperwork?

WatlingA5

Looking at some of the topics in this section, this may sound a bit flippant, but it is not intended that way.

We have five big boxes of files from several decades, much of it to do with pensions and suchlike. The stuff about the background to mergers, etc, is easily discarded but annual statements are another matter. My paperwork includes P60s from the 60s - apt but hardly relevant today. To be honest, I know the old P60s are only any use for getting gasps of disbelief from the grandchildren

We're now drawing all our pensions so we're not sure we need to keep ANY of it... Just how long should you hold on to annual statements from pensions, life assurances and banks?

Our heads say chuck it all out but a built-in fear of sod's law says hold on to everything with a name on it.

Other opinions would be very welcome

Note to admins - If you think another section would be more appropriate for this post, please feel free to move it. Thank you

lika_86

If you're concerned then why not 'employ' one of your grandchildren to spend some time over Christmas scanning them in and putting them on a memory stick?

I'd probably try and keep the last annual/monthly statement from each and replace as new ones come in. If you keep them all in one specific folder then they're easily found for others if something happened to you and someone needs to collect the estate in.

bap98189

I keep the most recent annual statement from my pensions, but that is all. There seems little point keeping anything older.

I don't keep any paper copies of bank statements, bills or credit cards. They are all available online should I need to access them, but I almost never have any need to do so.

gettingtheresometime

Our paperwork gets scanned & stored electronically with the paperwork shredded

-taff

Chuck anything from more than 7 years ago.
Unless you can make a PPI complaint using it.

74jax

I'm terrible. Don't keep anything longer than a year. And I do as much online as I can so I don't get paperwork.

meer53

Bin it. Keep the most recent annual statements but bin the rest. What possible reason could you need a P60 from 50 years ago for ? The mind boggles !

lincroft1710

Don't bin any of it straight away!!

Shred any papers you wish to dispose of, then bin.

badmemory

Don't destroy the P60s until you know that the DWP/HMRC have complete records - you can use them to prove entitlement to pension if their records are incorrect.

Fireflyaway

I'm guilty of not keeping enough.
So long as you have contact information for each of your investments and the most recent statements, I'd shred the rest. Maybe keep the oldest p60 for memories but other than that, I'm not sure why you would need anything else.

jamesperrett

-taff wrote: »

Unless you can make a PPI complaint using it.

I'm glad I kept that loan application from 1990 now - the bank had no record of it but my paperwork clearly showed the PPI. That experience now means that I'm loathed to throw out any paperwork of any age.