What is the difference between a retirement plan and a pension plan?

Pension plans are a component of retirement planning and involve financial planning to create savings that grow to yield steady income on retirement. The goal of pension plans is to replace regular income that stops after retirement to enable the retiree continue to live comfortably. Pension plans are available from insurance companies, mutual fund houses and the government of India. Retirement planning involves choosing from various pension plans from these sources. Fund houses also offer retirement savings plans where investors can accumulate savings for retirement. So retirement insurance policy focuses on accumulation, whereas pension plans focus on both accumulation and steady income on retirement.