The Nation's 401(k) Leader Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of its own 401(k) Plan During National 401(k) Day
Sept. 1, 2005 (Des Moines, Iowa) — The Principal Financial Group®, the nation's
National 401(k) Day was established by the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) to draw attention to the role of the 401(k) in helping employees achieve long term financial security.
"Over the past 20 years, our 401(k) plan has proven to be an efficient and effective way for our employees to invest in America and at the same time save for retirement," said Jim DeVries, senior vice president of human resources at The Principal. "It is very fitting to celebrate two decades of savings with our employees on the day set aside nationally to pay tribute to this enormously successful and popular retirement savings option."
DeVries said that creative tactics like 401(k) day are critically important to the success of a retirement plan. "We use a variety of communication tools on 401(k) day and throughout the year to show employees how participation in the 401(k) plan impacts their long term financial security. Our 92 percent employee participation rate is evidence these efforts are paying off," said DeVries.
The Principal first introduced its 401(k) plan to employees in 1985 and was one of the first providers of 401(k) plan services to other employers. Across the United States today nearly 450 thousand 401(k) plans are offered by employers, covering nearly 53 million workers with assets of $2.85 trillion1.
The Principal celebrates National 401(k) Day both as an employer and as a leading provider of 401(k) plans to other employers. As a sponsor of 401(k) Day, The Principal developed a 401(k) Day tool kit to encourage its employer clients to celebrate the day with their own employees. The kit includes an action planner for plan sponsors, posters, tips for saving, retirement calculation worksheet and much more to promote the importance of the 401(k) plan and its impact on a successful retirement.
"As the nation's 401(k) leader, we understand the challenge of cutting through the noise to spend, spend, spend with a message of save, save, save. With a national savings rate of less than one percent of income, there has probably never been a more important time in history to pullout all stops to get workers focused on saving for the future," said Dan Houston, senior vice president of retirement and investor services at the Principal Financial Group. "National 401(k) Day is one more way, and a simple one at that, for employers to help workers better understand and more effectively participate in this important benefit so they can achieve long term financial security."
For more information about National 401(k) Day, visit www.principal.com/401kday or www.psca.org.
About The Principal Financial Group
The Principal Financial Group®
(The Principal®)2
is 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 $187.8 billion in assets under management3 and serves some 15.2 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.
Insurance products and services issued by Principal Life Insurance Company.
1) Retirement Resources, Inc. Market Overview Year-End 2004
2) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.
3) As of June 30, 2005.
