A better retirement experience is about to begin

We continue to advance our integration of Wells Fargo's Institutional Retirement & Trust (IRT). Watch a video from Principal CEO, Dan Houston, about how our people-first strategy guides our progress.

Get an inside look into our culture

We’re on track to meet the goals promised to our clients.

Read the press release

Icon of a selected checkbox.   Acquisition

Icon of a selected checkbox.   Technology platform selection for each business segment

Icon of a selected checkbox.   Leadership and talent decisions

Icon of a selected checkbox.   Target operating model

Icon of an unselected checkbox.   Client, participant, and employee migration waves

Icon of an unselected checkbox.   Integration completion

Improving plan health and retirement readiness

We're evolving the Principal® defined contribution and defined benefit retirement platform. It will incorporate the best capabilities from both Principal and Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust (IRT). Combined, these features can help drive results for plan sponsors and participants alike.

Flexible

Our system is built to be nimble and scalable to meet the complex needs of all clients.

Efficient

Plan administration tasks are just a click away and streamlined for efficiency.

Simple

Navigate to your retirement plan service by Principal in one place from a single sign-on.

Personal

Personalized participant educational experience can meet individuals where they are.

Robust

Interactive, engaging financial wellness tools and resources can help build confidence.

Actionable

One-touch contribution increases make taking action simple.

Preview our platform

Working with us is easy

A better retirement begins with a better customer experience. Throughout this integration, we’re focused on seamlessly providing the customer care and easy-to-use digital resources you expect along with best-in-class enhancements.

Learn more about our resources Preview our enhancements (PDF)

Carilion was searching for a way to enhance the retirement savings opportunities of our 13,000+ employees. We chose Principal because we believe their digital capabilities, leadership, and strategy can only improve upon the successful participant outcomes with Wells Fargo IRT we’ve already experienced. We look forward to seeing where this relationship takes us.”

Heather Davenport

Carilion Vice President, Human Resource Operations

Long-standing, large IRT client

Industry-leading user experience

  • Principal is ranked “best-in-class” plan sponsor financial service website.1
  • Principal is ranked No.1 for advisor and participant services and support.2
  • Participants who logged into the Principal website have a 50% higher average deferral rate.3

Principal platform selected for total retirement suite

Advanced digital experience for deferred compensation plans

As the No.1 service provider of nonqualified deferred compensation plans4, our platform was built to help meet the unique designs of NQ plans. This gives you access to more plan asset and liability reporting, investment resources and other tools and resources to assist with plan administration.

See our NQ experience   Have a trust?

Robust employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) system

We’re the No.1 service provider of employee stock ownership plans5 and have built our ESOP platform with innovative tools and resources—including a web-based resource to help manage private ESOP cash flow projections and hassle-free elections—to help you manage your plan simply and efficiently.

See our ESOP experience

Significant research and due diligence went into choosing the Principal recordkeeping platform. Get details on how we made the platform decision.

Questions? We’re here to help.

For customers and business partners

800-986-3343

For media inquiries

515-878-1504

For investor inquiries

515-235-9500

The integration includes the Wells Fargo IRT defined contribution, defined benefit, executive deferred compensation, employee stock ownership plans, institutional trust and custody and institutional asset advisory businesses.

1 Dalbar’s WebMonitor Rankings, DC WebMonitor award for plan sponsor Q1 2019.

2 Escalent. Cogent Syndicated. Retirement Plan Advisor Trends™. October 2019.

3 Principal reporting from 1/1/2017 through 12/31/2017 for participants who use our digital resources.

4 Based on total number of 409A nonqualified deferred compensation plans (excluding 457 plans), PLANSPONSOR 2019 NQDC Recordkeeping Survey, July 2019.

5 Based on number of employee stock ownership plans, PLANSPONSOR Recordkeeping Survey, July 2018.

Sample materials are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the final product. They are the property of Principal®. All rights reserved. No part of the content may be reproduced or used in any form.

Principal Financial Group closed the acquisition of certain assets of the Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust business (IRT) on July 1, 2019. The transition, transfer, and conversion of IRT business operations, employees, and clients will occur over the following 12-24 months. During the transition period, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., a bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company, will continue to operate and service the IRT business for the benefit of Principal®, including providing recordkeeping, trustee, and/or custody services. Wells Fargo has not reviewed the content of the attached material and makes no judgment of its accuracy.