To help maintain the stability of the site, free accounts are deleted if players do not log in in after a period of 15 days. Upgraded accounts do not have this limitation. Deleting an account includes deletion of all things related to the account, including player bases, fleets, credits, etc... However, when an account is deleted the bases can be turned in United Colonies.
If a player does not log in after a period of 4 days, that player stops getting income from bases until he logs in again.