Background: In the 2021 Allspring study, 3,402 consumers were surveyed on a variety of issues, including their financial planning behaviors, retirement optimism, and financial comfort. In collaboration with Allspring, the RRC analyzed the data to identify different segments of the population by their approach to financial planning and its impact on retirement optimism and financial comfort.Findings: Four unique segments emerged from the analysis and are listed below in order of magnitude (most to least optimistic). Interestingly, all represent about the same percentage of the population studied.Planners With No Worries: Very active financial planners with no worries about their ability to retire (25% of the population).Comfortable Without Planning: Very high levels of comfort regarding their prospects for retirement yet without financial planning (28% of the population). Investment Positive but Worried: Planners who are very optimistic about the future performance of their investments but still are very worried about their prospects for retirement and have low financial comfort (21% of the population).Uncomfortable and Pessimistic: Very low levels of financial planning along with very low levels of financial comfort. They are pessimistic about their prospects for retirement (26% of the population).Bottom line:The research shows that roughly half the population studied (47%, which includes both the “Investment Positive but Worried” and “Uncomfortable and Pessimistic” groups) is concerned and/or pessimistic about their prospects for a financially comfortable retirement. The “Uncomfortable and Pessimistic” group needs the most help as they lack retirement confidence and have limited financial resources. Also, there are more women than men in this segment, so focusing on its needs could be important in helping to close the retirement savings gap.Taking steps such as creating a financial plan improves optimism towards retirement as well as enables motivation for behavior change. However, financial planning alone can be intimidating to individuals such as those in the “Uncomfortable and Pessimistic” group. Their lower assets make it difficult to support a one-on-one planning model; therefore, the retirement industry needs to continue its search for an economically viable and effective planning model to meet the needs of individuals who are at risk for having financially insecure retirements.Special thanks to Allspring for its support of the RRC in this research.