Clients Rank The Principal Among the Best in Annual Satisfaction Survey

Recognizing an unwavering commitment to provide exceptional quality and service, the Principal Financial Group^® received strong scores in satisfaction and loyalty from its defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) retirement plan clients in 2009, according to a recent survey by Chatham Partners.

"It is remarkable how The Principal^® continues to deliver a consistent client experience even in these uncertain and often volatile times,” said Joshua Dietch, managing director of Chatham Partners, a leading independent market research firm that focuses on the financial services industry. "Year in, year out, their clients applaud the efforts of their plan sponsor client relationship personnel and the services provided to clients’ employees. In these times, this achievement is no small feat.”

The survey results show strong scores for overall client satisfaction, including several Best in Class¹ distinctions for client service and actuarial personnel. In addition, client loyalty ratings and service excellence scores exceeded the Chatham benchmark in a majority of areas measured, including:

• Treats me as important
• Easy to do business with
• Flexible in meeting my unique needs

"We strive to add value for our clients by providing top-notch service in every aspect of their retirement program,” said Greg Burrows, senior vice president of retirement and investor services at The Principal. "One way we achieve this is by listening to our clients and acting on their feedback. As the economy continues to recover and our clients work to rebuild, this ongoing process of improvement is especially critical.”

The Chatham Partners survey solicited feedback from DC and DB retirement plan clients on the products and services they receive from The Principal. The firm surveyed two client segments: small to mid-sized plan sponsors with $5 million to $50 million in retirement plan assets and large plan sponsors with $50 million or more in plan assets.

About Chatham Partners

Chatham Partners is a market research and consulting firm specializing in assisting financial service firms maximize the value of future, current and past customer and intermediary seller relationships through conducting customized win/loss, customer satisfaction, departed client and intermediary studies. For additional information, visit www.chathamllc.com.

About the Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group^® (The Principal^®)² is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $284.7 billion in assets under management³ and serves some 18.9 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.

Chatham Partners is not an affiliate of any member company of the Principal Financial Group.

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¹ Best in Class as defined by Chatham Partners is a top box (very satisfied) score of 85 percent or higher.

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 December 31, 2009