Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and apparatus for retirement income planning. One embodiment of a method for planning an income stream includes receiving personal data relating to an individual, where the personal data includes the value of the individual's projected income and the value of the individual's projected expenses. The difference between the projected expenses and the projected income is then calculated, and an annuity is purchased in substantially real time from among a plurality of annuities presented in an auction-style format, where the annuity provides a sum to offset the calculated difference.