Settlement records and dispute packs rarely share a single retention period. Treating them as one bucket either deletes evidence too early or keeps customer detail forever.
Archive control audits separate legal holds from ordinary clocks. A hold without a release checklist becomes permanent storage by habit.
Destruction certificates should name the archive, the period, and the method. Generic IT tickets do not convince a partner auditor.
Map dispute retention to scheme and regulator expectations before you promise customers a shorter privacy window than you can honour.