Help with IRAs

If you have a (pre-tax) traditional IRA, you typically haven’t paid taxes on the contributions made to your account or any earnings. When you withdraw money from a traditional IRA, the IRS treats it like income to you. You may be required to pay taxes on the withdrawal based on your current income tax bracket.

If you have an (after-tax) Roth IRA, you already paid income tax on the money in your account and your savings grow tax-free. This means you don’t have to pay taxes on the money you take from a Roth IRA after age 59 ½, assuming you satisfy the 5-Year Rule from the IRS.¹

If you have tax questions related to your IRA, talk with a tax professional.

You are not able to take a loan from an IRA. However, there are several exceptions that allow you to take a distribution from your IRA prior to age 59 ½ without a 10% early distribution penalty in order to cover certain costs—for example, making a down payment on your first home, paying for higher education and for certain birth and adoption expenses. Taxes on the distribution may still apply.

Additionally, you can take money out of your account and return it within 60 days—as a rollover—and you will not have to pay taxes or penalties on the amount you put back into your IRA. This is something you can do once in a 12-month period for any IRA account.

If you have questions about how these exceptions or an early distribution could impact you, talk with a tax professional.

An RMD is the amount you must withdraw from your IRA each year. You must begin taking RMDs for the year you turn age 73 and annually thereafter. If you withdraw less than your RMD or miss the deadline, you may be subject to a tax penalty of up to 25% of the amount you were required to withdraw for the year. This amount may be reduced to 10% if corrected in a timely manner.

Learn how your RMD is calculated and the deadlines to withdraw.

How much you can contribute depends on whether or not you are contributing to other retirement plans such as a 401(k). Find out current contribution limits.

You may request withdrawals from your account online. Look for the Transactions tab on your account dashboard.

If the withdrawal amount is $50,000 or more, or is an amount that will bring your balance below the required minimum balance of $5,000, please contact our team at 866-412-0770.

Depending on the plan’s requirements, it typically takes about seven to ten business days for an electronic transfer to be completed. Paper checks may take longer.

If you have additional funding questions, review our detailed funding instructions.

You can link a bank account like your personal checking or savings account to your Principal SimpleInvest account at any time and then transfer funds from your bank account into your account. It may take a couple days for the money to transfer. To get started, log in to your account and click on the Transactions tab.

If you have additional funding questions, review our detailed funding instructions.

If you are required to take an RMD, you will be notified by Apex, your Principal SimpleInvest account custodian. Apex is the financial institution holding your investments for safekeeping.

If you have questions about how to take an RMD, please talk with a tax professional. If you have questions about the amount you need to take from your account, contact our team at 866-412-0770.

Learn how your RMD is calculated and the deadlines to withdraw.

To view your current account beneficiaries, log in, select the My Profile tab in the top right corner, then select Beneficiaries and your Principal® SimpleInvest account from the Account Type drop-down.

Remember, beneficiaries are account-specific designations. You’ll want to review your elections for all accounts and make sure they match your wishes. Not sure who to name as your beneficiary? Check out our 5 considerations for choosing retirement beneficiaries.

Our team is ready to help however it’s most convenient for you—by phone or email.

Call us at 866-412-0770 Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CT or email advisedservices@principal.com.

To withdraw money from your account, call us at 800-852-4450 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.

To add money to your IRA, please call us at 800-852-4450 weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT to see if this option is available to you.

We’ll mail you a letter in January with information about the RMD for your Principal Annuity. To make a one-time withdrawal of your RMD or inquire how to set up automatic withdrawals, call 800-852-4450 weekdays 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. CT.

Learn how your RMD is calculated and the deadlines to withdraw..

You can view your current elected beneficiaries online. After logging in, click on Beneficiary Information from the Contract Summary Page on the Account Info tab. It is located in the Contract Info toolbar on the left side of the page.

If you’d like to update your beneficiary information, you’ll need to complete a beneficiary designation form (PDF).

Remember, beneficiaries are account-specific designations. You’ll want to review your elections for all accounts and make sure they match your wishes. Not sure who to name as your beneficiary? Check out our 5 considerations for choosing retirement beneficiaries

We’re here for you and ready to help. Call us at 800-852-4450 weekdays from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. CT.

Regular mail:
Principal Financial Group
RIS Annuity Services M-001-E10
PO Box 9382
Des Moines, IA 50306-9382

Overnight mail:
Principal Financial Group
RIS Annuity Services M-001-E10
711 High Street
Des Moines, IA 50392-1770

Fax:
866-894-2087

Phone:
800-852-4450

If you have a Principal Bank Automatic Rollover IRA (also known as Safe Harbor or Plan Term IRA), a Money Market,² or an Assured Savings, you can request a withdrawal online up to $25,000. Log in to get started.

Have more questions about your Automatic Rollover IRA? Check out our automatic rollover FAQs.

If you would like to request a withdraw more than $25,000 or you have an IRA CD,³ log in to access a distribution form through your online account. You can fax, mail, or email the completed form to Principal Bank.

Don’t have an online account yet? Create one now or call 800-672-3343 to request a form.

You may be able to add money to your account and set up recurring contributions online. Log in to get started.⁴

You can mail a check to make a one-time contribution to your account. Get a contribution form online or by calling 800-672-3343 to request one.

Your RMD can be found on your annual statement. If you elected to receive electronic statements, new statements are posted to your online account each January. If you haven’t signed up for electronic delivery of statements, we’ll mail your statement to the address we have on file.

To sign up for electronic delivery, login to your account.

To take your RMD from a CD, Money Market, or Automatic IRA, complete and return the RMD form. You can also elect to have your RMD automatically distributed each year. See form for details.

Learn how your RMD is calculated and the deadlines to withdraw.

To update your beneficiaries, log in to your account and click on your IRA Account and select Services & Forms. Click on the Assign beneficiaries to my IRA link and complete, print and return the form.

Call 800-672-3343 weekdays from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. for information on your current beneficiary election.

Remember, beneficiaries are account-specific designations. You’ll want to review your elections for all accounts and make sure they match your wishes. Not sure who to name as your beneficiary? Check out our 5 considerations for choosing retirement beneficiaries

We’re here for you and ready to help. Call us at 800-672-3343 weekdays from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Regular mail:
Principal Bank
PO Box 9351
Des Moines, IA 50306-9351

Overnight mail:
Principal Bank
711 High Street
Des Moines, IA 50392

Fax:
866-431-8410

Phone:
800-672-3343

You can also email forms to principalbankcustomerforms@principal.com.

There are a couple of things to know if you send forms via email. This isn’t a secure email address and there is a chance information could be compromised. Formats accepted are PDF, PNG, TIF or JPEG files. For best results, add the document as an attachment.

This email address is only for processing forms and we aren’t able to respond from this address. If you have additional questions or need help, give us a call.