Rebuilding what was lost in 2008 -- how long might it take?

The estimator asks a few questions to identify people in the study with similar circumstances and offers an estimated rebuilding time for 90% of those like you. Unfortunately, the study did not have enough comparative data to offer an estimate. You may choose to adjust any of your inputs slightly and the estimator will offer an estimated rebuilding time based on this new comparison.

Based on the study, the time to rebuild for 401(k) participants similar to you is estimated to be

Congratulations! You should have recovered your losses already or are very close to doing so.

Want to speed the rebuilding process?
Based on contribution ranges used in the study, if the annual contribution is increased to between the estimated rebuilding time for participants in that contribution range is estimated to be

Want to recover sooner? If you increase your annual contribution to be between a year you may recover sooner.

But, if contributions stop altogether, the rebuilding time based on the study is estimated to be

IMPORTANT: In providing you with future scenarios of the retirement rebuilding estimator, you select an assumed hypothetical rate of return. This assumption is purely hypothetical, is not guaranteed, and the actual outcome will differ from what is shown. No one can predict what the market will do tomorrow or at any time in the future.

Remember a couple of things about the information provided by this estimator:

• It's based on people similar to you, so it's for illustrative purposes only.
• The estimate is based on how long the survey indicated that it would take 90 percent of 401(k) participants within similar account balances and contribution ranges to rebuild their 401(k) account balance to January 1, 2008, levels based on a user-selected hypothetical rate of return.
• It is a great starting point for a discussion with a financial professional/advisor about your plans for retirement.

Control what you can:

• Saving more is a key to rebuilding retirement savings.
• If your employer's retirement plan services are with The Principal, you may be able to increase how much you contribute online; otherwise, contact the human resources office at your employer.
• Make sure retirement funds are allocated to help maximize potential return according to your tolerance for risk and how close you are to retirement.
• It is important for you to understand that historically, stock market downturns have not lasted forever. Focus on performance over the long-term rather than the daily, weekly and monthly ups and downs.

The estimates used in this study are derived from those appearing in "The Impact of the Recent Financial Crisis on 401(k) Accounts Balances," EBRI Issue Brief #326 February 2009.

With the estimate provided above, it may be a good idea to create or update your plans for retirement using one of the following tools:

• If you have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan with services provided by The Principal, you can use My Principal^® Edge Milestones.
• If you don't have access to an employer-sponsored plan with services provided by The Principal, we have a retirement planning tool especially for you.
• Your financial professional can help you address the specifics of your personal plan for retirement. If you have questions, call The Principal at 1.800.986.3343.