Financial Education and Annuities Life annuities – financial products that help individuals convert a lump sum of wealth into a guaranteed life long income stream – have an important role to play in providing a secure source of retirement income. Because annuities provide valuable insurance against longevity risk much of the theoretical work in economics suggests that life annuities ought to comprise a large share of the retirement portfolios of most households. Yet around the world voluntary annuity markets remain small.