The first question people ask is does the process require so much planning that one has to classify it under a separate head. But, it is very difficult to do retirement planning unless you are convinced about its need.
The idea is that each individual should ensure they are consciously trying to save money for the time when they are old and will need funds for various purposes. To begin with all that one has to do is to save some part of the income.
In many cases, a lot of us actually plan for retirement by keeping away some money for old age but this is often not enough because of the irregular nature of such allocation. The dual factors of increasing need for funds as things become more expensive and the increasing of the needs themselves of people make the benefits of retirement planning very obvious. Retirement planning will ensure that all the efforts made by an individual towards the objective that they have is channelized in the right direction and in the right manner so that the goals are achieved. This can also result in a situation where a person will be able to achieve far more with a smaller sum because the efforts are focused and sustained rather than some part time activity at irregular intervals.
This process is no longer possible if one were to just look at some funds and just put them away in some bond or deposit. Sadly, the situation is not so simple any longer. A decade ago, when your parents did the same thing it would have been right for the requirements because there were not many opportunities to invest money and still the requirements of funds were also not too huge. Now, the situation has undergone a sea change and it will no longer be sufficient for someone to live in the future with the same planning tools that were used a few years ago.