Ask HN: Are deferred comp plans a scam?

Formerly I worked for a company that offered a 401(k) retirement plan for everyone at every pay level. They did this by having a "safe harbor" plan (https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-sponsor/401k-plan-overview).

Current company offers standard 401(k) and the lower earners contribute little to the retirement plan. As a result the higher earners are not permitted to participate. We are offered only a deferred comp plan, which is inferior in every way: deferred comp is held by the company, is subject to bankruptcy proceedings, is difficult to access, and has terrible investment options.

The company is pushing high earners to participate in this like it's the best thing since sliced bread. The more they push, the more I wonder: is this a scam? Why not just offer a decent 401(k) like other companies do? It seems like they would vastly prefer to hold on to our earnings as company assets so that if they have financial trouble in the future, we are standing in the back of the collections line trying to get our deferred comp paid out.