PLANSPONSOR, a leading national retirement industry magazine, has recognized the Principal Financial Group® as one of the top 20 institutional leaders of the past 20 years. The Principal® was recognized for its "dedication to ensuring that small retirement plans get large plan service."

PLANSPONSOR decided to showcase the institutions that have "most influenced or changed the retirement industry over the past 20 years," in honor of the publication's 20th anniversary. Readers submitted nominations. The final 20 were selected by a group from PLANSPONSOR --including the editor-in-chief Alison Cooke Mintzer; founder and director of PLANSPONSOR, Charles Ruffel; and senior vice president, research and surveys, Quinn Keeler.

"The Principal has been a leader in the retirement arena, and in the defined contribution space in particular, from the very outset," says Charles Ruffel, founder of PLANSPONSOR. "As we thought through the Top 20 institutions that have changed our industry for the better, The Principal was an obvious choice."

"We recognized from the beginning that small employers need the same flexible services, depth of products and extensive support we provide to larger employers. We are honored to be recognized for this distinction," said Greg Burrows, senior vice president of retirement and investor services at The Principal. "This award is especially meaningful because nominations were submitted by the very groups we strive to serve with excellence--financial professionals and plan sponsors."

Burrows continued, "We congratulate PLANSPONSOR for its significant contributions to the industry over the past 20 years. The publication provides a critically important service by keeping us all informed of the key trends, issues and developments that help shape the retirement savings landscape."

The Principal has been in the retirement industry for over 70 years and provides services to more than 43,000 retirement plans of all sizes, covering nearly 4.3 million participants1.

PLANSPONSOR presented the award on March 27 at the 2013 Awards for Excellence ceremony in New York. The prestigious event is held each year to celebrate accomplishments made in the retirement plan industry.

Last year PLANSPONSOR presented the Lifetime Achievement Award toLarry Zimpleman, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Principal for his extraordinary contributions to the retirement plan industry.

For more news and insights from The Principal, connect with us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ThePrincipal.

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group® (The Principal®)2 is a global investment management leader offering retirement services, insurance solutions and asset management. The Principal offers businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement, asset management and insurance through its diverse family of financial services companies. Founded in 1879 and a member of the FORTUNE 500®, the Principal Financial Group has $403.0 billion in assets under management3 and serves some 18.3 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.

1 43,171 plans with 4,269,242 participants as of 12/31/12.
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 Dec. 31, 2012

Principal Financial Group
Terri Hale, 515-283-8858
hale.terri@principal.com
or
Sonja Sorrel, 515-362-2431
sorrel.sonja@principal.com