VARIABLE ANNUITY ACCOUNT C
                    Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Company

                      Supplement Dated September 3, 1996
                         to Prospectus Dated May 1, 1996

This  supplement  describes  Series C of Aetna GET Fund  (GET C), an  investment
option which may be available under the contract  described by the prospectus to
which this  supplement  is attached  (Contract)  and a guarantee  offered by the
Aetna Life Insurance and Annuity Company (Aetna) in connection with  investments
in GET C.

AETNA GET FUND - Series C

GET C seeks to achieve  maximum  total  return  without  compromising  a minimum
targeted rate of return by participating in favorable equity market  performance
during a  Guaranteed  Period.  GET C shares will be offered  for a limited  time
period  (Offering  Period).  Aetna  reserves the right to reject amounts of less
than  $5,000  transferred  to GET C. Aetna is the  investment  adviser to GET C.
Aeltus Investment Management, Inc. is the sub-adviser to GET C.

THE GET FUND GUARANTEE

GET C will mature in five years (Maturity  Date),  which will end the Guaranteed
Period for GET C. Aetna  guarantees that the value of a GET C accumulation  unit
on the  Maturity  Date will not be less  than the value of a GET C  accumulation
unit at the  beginning  of the  Guaranteed  Period.  If  necessary,  Aetna  will
transfer funds from its General  Account to GET C to offset any shortfall.  THIS
GUARANTEE  DOES NOT APPLY TO  WITHDRAWALS  OR TRANSFERS MADE BEFORE THE MATURITY
DATE.  Such  withdrawals or transfers are made at the actual  accumulation  unit
value on the date of the transaction.

GET C is only available as an investment option during the accumulation  period.
GET C should  not be  selected  if  annuity  payments  or other  withdrawals  or
transfers  from  GET C are  expected  to  begin  prior  to  the  Maturity  Date.
Participants must transfer any portion of the value of their contract  (Contract
Value) held in GET C to another  investment  option before an annuity  option is
elected.

Prior  to  the  Maturity  Date,  Aetna  will  send a  notice  to  each  contract
owner/participant  with amounts in GET C advising  them of the Maturity Date and
that another investment option must be elected.  If no such election is made, on
the Maturity Date Aetna will transfer the portion of the Contract Value based on
GET C to  another  available  series  of GET  Fund.  If no GET  Fund  series  is
available,  50% of the Contract  Value from GET C will be  transferred  to Aetna
Variable Fund, a growth and income fund. The remaining 50% of the Contract Value
from  GET C will be  transferred  to  Aetna  Income  Shares,  a bond  fund.  The
transfers would be made as of the next valuation date.

The following information supplements the Fee Table contained in the Prospectus:

AETNA GET FUND SERIES C ANNUAL  EXPENSES (As a percentage of average net assets)



                                                                                 
                                        INVESTMENT                   OTHER                TOTAL FUND
                                        ADVISORY FEE*                EXPENSES**           ANNUAL EXPENSES
                                        ------------                 ---------            ---------------
Aetna GET Fund Series C                 0.60%                        0.15%                0.75%


*        0.25% during the Offering Period.  Thereafter, a management fee at an
         annual rate of 0.60% will apply during the Guaranteed Period.

**       Administrative Services includes all other expenses of GET C.


See  the  prospectus  for GET C for a more  complete  description  of the Fund,
including charges and expenses.


SEPARATE ACCOUNT ANNUAL EXPENSES
(As an annual  percentage  of average net asset value.  The daily  equivalent is
deducted from the GET C Subaccount of the Separate Account.)



                                                                                  
   Mortality and Expense Risk Charge                                                 1.25%
   GET Guarantee Charge (deducted daily during
    the Guaranteed Period)                                                           0.25%
   Administrative Expense Charge. We currently do not
     impose an Administrative Expense Charge. However,
     we reserve the right to deduct a daily charge from
     the Subaccounts equivalent on an annual basis
     to not more than 0.25%                                                          0.00%
                                                                                     -----
Total Separate Account Annual Expenses                                               1.50%


HYPOTHETICAL ILLUSTRATION (Example) - Aetna GET Fund Series C

THIS EXAMPLE IS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A
REPRESENTATION OF PAST OR FUTURE EXPENSES OR EXPECTED RETURN.  ACTUAL EXPENSES
AND/OR RETURN MAY BE MORE OR LESS THAN THOSE SHOWN BELOW.

The  following  Examples  illustrate  the  expenses  that  would  have been paid
assuming a $1,000  investment  in the GET C Subaccount  of the Contract and a 5%
return on assets.




                EXAMPLE A                                               EXAMPLE B
If you withdraw your entire Account Value at         If you do not withdraw your Account Value, or
the end of the periods shown, you would pay          if you annuitize at the end of the periods
the following expenses, including any                shown, you would pay the following expenses
applicable deferred sales charge: or                 (no deferred sales charge is reflected):*

                                                                  
1 Year     3 Years    5 Years    10 Years            1 Year    3 Years      5 Years    10 Years
$ 75       $ 128      $ 183      $ 269               $ 24      $ 73         $ 126      $ 269



* This  Example  would not apply if a  nonlifetime  variable  annuity  option is
selected,  and a lump-sum  settlement  is  requested  within  three  years after
annuity  payments  start  since  the  lump-sum  payment  will  be  treated  as a
withdrawal  during the  Accumulation  Period and will be subject to any deferred
sales charge that would then apply. (Refer to Example A.)


PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance   information  for  the  investment  adviser  with  respect  to  its
management  of funds  similar to the Fund  described  above is  contained in the
Fund's prospectus.

The  following  replaces the second  paragraph  under the section  entitled "The
Company":

The Company is a wholly owned  subsidiary of Aetna  Retirement  Holdings,  Inc.,
which is in turn a wholly owned subsidiary of Aetna Retirement  Services,  Inc.
and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Aetna Inc.

FORM No.  X75982.5(GET)                                  September 1996