I like lump sum 401Ks. After I retired I saw my lump sum increase significantly thanks to a healthy stock market. Income based pension plans would only seem wise if one is not comfortable managing investments.
For folks like my parents pensions were the only thing offered. the 401k is a fairly recent development. 50 years ago most people worked for one company most of their life and that company guaranteed them an income in retirement.
For those that can, invest in stock. I have my money in AMD.
The stock has doubled since Dec 2018