Annuities make the financial advisor rich, but they don't help you very much. I just got done looking at these for my Mom. If you're interested in a recurring income stream, look at high dividend returning stocks, or a dividend index fund like VIG or VWELX. Some folks like closed-end funds, those typically work by returning some of your own capital to you on a monthly basis (kind of like an annuity). They're a bit too complex for my tastes.
Disadvantage of annuities include:
* High up front sales commission paid to the salesman
* Your returns are dependent on the company remaining solvent
* Typically low/no control over investments funding the annuity
* Money is gone - nothing to leave your inheritors.
* Company typically invests conservatively and takes the margin between your annuity and their profit goal.
Advantages
* Predictable income
These should mitigate risk, but in a financial meltdown, you'd need to worry about the company staying solvent. If you wanted to build your own annuity, you could do that too, and avoid all the sales and profit overhead.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/12/build-your-own-annuity.asp