Pressure Mounts as Major Defined Benefit Plan Deadline Nears
March 25, 2008 (Des Moines, Iowa) — It's a race against the clock for financial professionals and their defined benefit plan clients. The challenge? Meet a critical—and complicated—new reporting deadline imposed by the Pension Protection Act. If they miss the April 1 deadline, some1 could face restrictions on paying out benefits.
Fortunately, a powerful new reporting tool from the Principal Financial Group® can help.
"It's like they're cramming for a final in quantum physics. And we're giving them the Cliffs Notes," said Chris Mayer, vice president of defined benefit services at The Principal®.
Plan sponsors count on their actuarial valuation report each year to help them with funding decisions. New regulations call for more information and tighter deadlines. The Principal has revamped the report to make planning easier and help sponsors meet—and understand— the new rules.
"Defined benefit plan regulations are incredibly complex," Mayer continued. "This re-designed annual report cuts through the legalese and makes those convoluted concepts much easier to understand. That helps financial professionals and plan sponsors make better decisions in less time."
The report gives each actuarial defined benefit client of The Principal customized data on their plan to satisfy Pension Protection Act requirements. The report also provides newly developed tools to make future planning faster and easier.
The report provides:
- The ability to easily forecast potential funding levels and evaluate plan changes with a plan funding volatility tool
- A complete "Rules and Regulations" section for quick reference on important Pension Protection Act plan legislation, terminology and rules of operation
- Full-color, reader-friendly formatting for better understanding in simple language
- An online version with easy navigation on the Principal Sponsor Service CenterSM
The actuarial staff of The Principal is working with clients facing possible restrictions and their financial professionals to help them receive information in time to meet the critical deadline.
Independent actuaries from The Principal average 20 years of experience. The Principal is the top defined benefit service provider in the nation2.
About the Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)4is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune® 500, the Principal Financial Group has $311.1 billion in assets under management5 and serves some 18.6 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.
1) Defined benefit plans that operate on a calendar plan year
2) The Principal is the #1 service provider of defined benefit plans in the nation (Investment Advisor Magazine, March 2007).
3) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
4) As of December 31, 2007
