While I generally agree with your view on pensions. 401K is currently not a good solution because many of them have higher fees and perform worse than an index

While I generally agree with your view on pensions. 401K is currently not a good solution because many of them have higher fees and perform worse than an index fund. Over a 30+ year period, those higher fees often result in a 2-5% loss in income which can easily be tens of thousands of dollars or more. What happens if you are unlucky to retire right when a crash occurs? There is an upside though: tax-free income. There are some 401K plans (not many) that allow you to have index funds as your core which is definitely good. But not sure how to handle the market crash problem.