Final answer:
For Amazon RDS data to be retained for up to 1 year, a manual snapshot should be taken and kept without deletion, bearing in mind that it may incur storage costs.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service), the type of backup you would want to take to retain for up to 1 year is a manual snapshot. RDS allows you to create automated backups, but these are typically retained for a maximum of 35 days. For longer retention needs, manual snapshots are the appropriate choice, as they can be kept for as long as you require, subject only to your AWS account limits. To maintain the snapshot for up to a year, you would create the snapshot and then simply choose not to delete it. It is important to note that while snapshots are a very useful means for data recovery, they will incur storage costs based on the amount of space they consume within your AWS account.