Customer protection guarantee

Customer Protection Guarantee

Our guarantee is simple: Principal® will reimburse your employer-sponsored retirement account(1) for losses from unauthorized activity occurring through no fault of your own.

What’s not covered by the Customer Protection Guarantee:

  • Loss due to sharing credentials with other individuals and/or not adequately securing your credentials from family members/acquaintances.
  • Distributions that were transferred to outside accounts that are beneficially owned by you.
  • Distribution checks that were mailed to your address on file, or to another address at your direction, but fraudulently cashed by someone else.
  • Fraudulent activity, malware or breach of security by the plan sponsor, financial professional, third-party administrator (TPA), or a third party you have authorized to receive your account information.

Best practices to keep your personal data secure

  • Log in to your account frequently.
  • Make sure you have strong, unique passwords.
  • Protect and don’t share your login credentials.
  • Utilize an authenticator app to receive notifications for 2-factor authentication.
  • Sign up for notifications on account changes so you can be alerted in real-time.
  • Keep your contact information current.
  • Stay informed and read correspondence from all of your financial service providers.
  • If you see something out of the ordinary, report it.
  • Use virus protection on devices. 

Read these additional tips for more ways to protect your personal data.

Here is what we are doing every day to help keep your personal information secure

Your financial information is designed to be safe because of our people, process, and technology.

  • Required employee background checks and annual security training.
  • 24/7/365 security operations center.
  • Conducting annual third-party testing of our network and systems.
  • Risk assessments of all third parties.
  • Investing in technology like phone validation, two-factor authentication, behavioral biometrics, account validation, and more.

What to do if you suspect fraudulent activity on your account

Please contact Principal right away if you receive any suspicious text notifications from us.

  1. Call during normal business hours at
    800-547-7754 (Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.–9 p.m. CT)
  2. Call anytime using the Ethics / Fraud Hotline at
    866-858-4433 (available 24/7)
  3. Submit the Unethical/Fraudulent Activity Reporting Form (available 24/7)

If we find suspicious activity, we’ll work with you to review what happened. We’ll ask for your help, which could include working with a professional security company to review your PC or other device, filing a police report and/or signing an affidavit. We’ll use the facts of the case to determine if unauthorized activity has occurred.  We will then evaluate to determine if the guarantee applies based on the circumstances.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans are defined benefit, defined contribution (including employee stock ownership plans), or retirement accounts with pension payments made through Principal® Custody Solutions.

2 As of 11/29/2022. Guarantee is subject to change.

Custody and trust services are provided by Principal Bank®, Member FDIC, and/or Principal Trust Company®. These services are provided under the trade name Principal® Custody Solutions. Principal Trust Company is a trade name of Delaware Guarantee & Trust Company. Insurance products and plan administrative services provided through Principal Life Insurance Company®. Referenced companies are members of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, Iowa 50392.

The guarantee applies to employer sponsored defined benefit, ESOP or defined contribution plans and is effective for unauthorized activity that occurs through no fault of your own. Exclusions to the policy may apply. https://www.principal.com/customer-protection-guarantee

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