ProductsMarch 26, 2015

The Principal Releases Retirement Transition Program

The Principal’s retirement transition program aims to build confidence and provide resources to pre-retirees.

Reported by Noel Couch

Pre-retirees have mixed expectations about retirement, as revealed in a survey by Principal Financial Group.

Among pre-retirees, 59% have a goal of saving at least $500,000 prior to the day they retire. However, fully 62% had less than $500,000 saved, while nearly 40% are unsure or do not plan to change their investment risk in retirement. Another 34% believe half or more of their income in retirement will come from Social Security.

In an effort to combat the uncertainty of income in retirement, Principal is launching a program to build confidence and reduce stress among participants as they make the transition to and through retirement.

Available to participants age 55 and older, the transition program provides engagement, education, and service through the following features:

Automatic membership – Retirement plan participants will be enrolled in the program when they reach age 55, and will continue to receive education and support throughout retirement.
Right information at the right time – Members receive a quarterly program newsletter and annual planning reminders regarding topics like savings, Social Security, Medicare, retirement budgeting and income options.
Personalized planning – Participants will work with a financial professional to create a personalized retirement income strategy based on their individual needs and objectives, such as risk tolerance, desired lifestyle in retirement and anticipated length of retirement.

“Longer life expectancy, retiring with higher levels of debt and increasing health care costs require us to rethink portfolio construction because unlike the savings years, there’s less time to recover from poor financial decisions,” says Jerry Patterson, senior vice president of retirement and investor services at The Principal.

The retirement transition program is a component of Principal PlanWorks, which includes a platform of capabilities and services designed to help make retirement plans work better for participants and plan sponsors.