Insurance You Want to Collect

You should buy an annuity--preferably 27 years before you're going to need it.

Most insurance protects you against something bad--a fire or a car accident, for example. But the biggest uninsured risk that most people face is that something quite good will happen: You live a long life. Annuities protect against that outcome. They promise regular payments as long as you (and your spouse) live, so that you won't outlast your retirement savings. If things were accurately named, annuities would be called life insurance (and today's life insurance would be called death insurance)...

Forbes: Insurance You Want to Collect