diff --git a/src/journal/journald.c b/src/journal/journald.c
index 2f013c2ab2b..87ed22e7fe9 100644
--- a/src/journal/journald.c
+++ b/src/journal/journald.c
@@ -94,8 +94,7 @@ static int run(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 
                         /* The retention time is reached, so let's vacuum! */
                         if (t <= 0) {
-                                log_info("Retention time reached, rotating.");
-                                server_rotate(s);
+                                log_info("Retention time reached, vacuuming.");
                                 server_vacuum(s, /* verbose = */ false);
                                 continue;
                         }
diff --git a/src/journal/journald.conf b/src/journal/journald.conf
index 13cdd6300fb..9a12ca76576 100644
--- a/src/journal/journald.conf
+++ b/src/journal/journald.conf
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 #RuntimeKeepFree=
 #RuntimeMaxFileSize=
 #RuntimeMaxFiles=100
-#MaxRetentionSec=
+#MaxRetentionSec=0
 #MaxFileSec=1month
 #ForwardToSyslog=no
 #ForwardToKMsg=no