Principal Financial Group 2008 Annual Report Download - page 19

2008 Year in Review | Investing for the Future 17
FOR ADVISERS…
n The Principal is helping baby boomers convert their hard-
earned savings into a retirement income for life. Our
white paper, Sustaining Income through Retirement: Four
Strategies for Retiring Clients, compares and contrasts
four key methods of turning retirement savings into an
income stream. It concludes there is no one-size-fits-all
solution and many boomers will need help from financial
professionals to find the right, personalized approach.
n In response to market volatility, The Principal introduced
a series of educational resources to help financial
professionals and employers weather the financial storm.
This includes a new guide, Navigating Your Way through
Market Turbulence, that takes a look at how the market
volatility may affect common types of retirement plans and
action steps to consider.
n Addressing the needs of retirement plan consultants and
independent registered investment advisers, The Principal
created a team to support both consultants and investment
advisory firms that service mid-size and large plan markets.
The team focuses on three key areas: corporate, non-profit
and Taft-Hartley plans and offers a comprehensive range of
solutions including defined contribution, defined benefit,
ESOP, nonqualified, investment only and income solutions.
n Retirement Dashboard, a new online account management
tool, gives retirement-focused financial professionals an
edge, with 24/7, tailored access to client data to help them
better manage their business and deliver top-notch service.
It includes at-a-glance client summaries, detailed information
that can be downloaded for easy sorting and analysis, and
a compliance tab to view the compliance testing results of
all qualified retirement plan clients.
n Our new Retirement Readiness Reviews guide, part of
our More Business. Less Time. client relationship
management program, helps financial professionals walk
their clients through retirement planning. The guide’s
checklists, workbook, timelines and worksheets give clients
a thorough way to plan.
n A new beneficiary planning tool from Principal Funds
equips financial professionals to help clients design a
personal and effective wealth-transfer strategy while
avoiding large and potentially unnecessary tax bills.
It’s the latest offering in our Art of the Rollover series.
n Principal Funds issued a research paper geared for financial
professionals, exploring how the dramatic and historic
decrease in housing values has significantly altered
the retirement plans of many Americans. The Impact of
Diminishing Wealth on Future Consumption: How Housing
Wealth Affects Retirement Planning helps financial
professionals address these new issues.
FOR EMPLOYEES AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS...
n Employees overwhelmed by difficult benefit choices and
complex financial decisions now have a new tool to put
them on track. Our interactive program, My Principal®
Edge Milestones, analyzes financial needs, identifying
shortfalls in saving for retirement and gaps in other
financial needs. The program gives employees a
personalized action plan to help meet their long-term
financial goals. It’s available online and through our
Worksite Solutions programs.
n Addressing Americans’ desire for more life insurance
protection for a longer period of time, The Principal
increased the issue age and reduced the price on its
individual term products. Principal 20 year term is
now available until age 65 and Principal 30 year term is
available until age 55 (non-tobacco only), up five years
from previous policies. A couple with two term policies
from The Principal has the option to convert their policies
into one survivorship universal life (SUL) policy, offering
flexibility in estate planning.
n We renewed our pharmacy benefits contract with CVS
Caremark, adding new programs that will offer lower drug
prices, pharmacy discounts and access to healthcare services
through MinuteClinic, a subsidiary of CVS Caremark. All
of this adds up to member savings and lower premiums and
claims costs for employers.