Interested in hearing thoughts on the factors that go into choosing to take a defined benefit pension payout as a one time lump sum or as a monthly payment for life. Have been discussing this with several people retiring soon and most seem to be leaning to lump sum. They have been at same employer for a long time so it's a nice amount.

I assume if one does it correctly, a large lump sum payout does not necessarily incur an excessively large tax burden by rolling over to an appropriate fund.  Plus, you get all of the money now instead of it going back to the company if one dies in a few years or the company has financial issues and can't make payments or terminates the plan.

So what should go into the consideration of one vs the other?

Are you comfortable with making a better investment with better return than the current payout over time?
In other words can you do more with your money than they will?

Also, speak with a qualified financial planner. Best of luck.

You can also roll it over into an IRA, penalty free.  Gives you lots of tax deferred investment options.
For instance a Fidelity Brokerage IRA account.

My mom took her retirement as a lump sum and rolled it into an IRA through Vanguard. It was completely tax free up front and she pays the standard taxes upon withdrawal.

Whether or not you take the lump sum has many factors. Do you feel confident that the company will still be solvent and paying pensions in 30 years? What rate of return do you expect to earn if you invested it? 5% is typically a conservative estimate. Do you expect to live a long time last retirement and milk the pension, or will you pass within the first 10 years?

Personally, with how the economy is going right now, I'd be tempted to take the lump sum as long as it wasn't a low ball offer. Unless it's a very large company with a major track record, I'm not sure I can trust them enough to be there for 30+ years depending on how long I live.