With the first wave of baby boomers preparing for retirement, viable sources of life income, including annuities, will be near the top of retirement planning considerations.

Market leaders include Fidelity and Vanguard.

For a primer on annuities visit the CCH Financial Planning Toolkit or Fool.com's What's to like about Annuities.

For a list of retirement annuity products, services, and information, visit the recently updated Moneysmartz retirement annuities directory.