How to: Set the Distribution Retention Period for Transactional Publications (SQL Server Management Studio)
Specify the minimum distribution retention period and maximum distribution retention period on the Distribution Database Properties - <DistributionDatabase> dialog box. This is available from the General page of the Distributor Properties - <Distributor> dialog box. For more information about accessing this dialog box, see How to: View and Modify Distributor Properties (SQL Server Management Studio).
To specify the distribution retention period
On the General page of the Distributor Properties - <Distributor> dialog box, click the properties button (…) for the distribution database.
To specify the minimum distribution retention period, enter a value in the At least box; to specify the maximum distribution retention period, enter a value in the But not more than box.
Click OK.