I am of the opinion almost any strategy is a better alternative to annuities. However, the problem with bonds of any duration, are yielding such a low return that your money will be frozen at those returns. And if rates do rise miraculously, then you are stuck with a lower yield and a lower priced bond should you want out. And if you reach for junk bonds, those yields are super low also. Heck Popeye's owner just auctioned junk rated bonds at a 3.88% yield. JUNK. Junk should be twice that at a minimum. You can probably find some higher yielding corporate bonds with very long duration, but unfortunately you run the risk of them being called (retired) or you have to hold for a long time. All that said, it is just very difficult to find reasonably decent yield that is safe. Sure the stock price could fall, but hopefully the dividend acts as a cushion I have taken to try and find good dividend paying stocks when they fall b/c of the overall market. I am not talking about the highest yielders, I am talking about 4 or 5% yields of companies I know and trust, when their shares sell off. Maybe an electric utility (if they ever sell off), a JP Morgan, maybe a Verizon if it ever falls, or some of the real estate investment trusts. You are into mortgages, there are a lot of real estate investment trusts who business is mortgages, such as the symbols NRZ and TWO. Very big yields, but I am just not sure what they own so I have avoided them. And if you think fossil fuels are going to still be around there are plenty of oil companies yielding between 4 and 7%, and I mean the biggest ones. But all this is just food for thought