At least the states with well- funded insurance regulators (NY, NJ, Calif.) aren't letting these puppies come to market -- but beware in the other 47 states.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142412788732346860457824...

Regulators in some of the biggest states have yet to approve these "contingent deferred annuities." They are worried that lifetime-income guarantees sold on a mass scale could be harmful to insurers' financial health if markets were to slide as they did in 2007-09, putting insurers on the hook for massive payouts.

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One of the few new guarantees on the market comes from Aegon NV's AGN.AE -4.43% Transamerica Advisors Life Insurance unit. Buyers pay an annual fee of 0.85% to 1.75% of the value of a portfolio built from an approved list of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. That comes on top of underlying fund fees.

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