401(k) · DOL Form 5500 · 2023

Principal Financial Group, Inc. 401(k) Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$4.1B
Total assets Very large vs avg
12,827
Participants Very large workforce
100th
Percentile by assets National rank
$322,303
Avg per participant High balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: The Principal Select Savings Plan · Sponsored by Principal Financial Group, Inc. · Iowa · Finance & Insurance

$4.1B in assets, 12,827 participants

Principal Financial Group, Inc.'s The Principal Select Savings Plan reported $4.1B in total assets and 12,827 participants in its 2023 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 100th percentile by assets among filed plans. Figures are as reported by the plan sponsor to the Department of Labor, not audited or endorsed by PlainRetire.

  • #8,808 in Finance & Insurance (8,869 peers)

Coverage in Iowa

The Principal Select Savings Plan covers 12,827 participants in Iowa, 21x the typical Iowa plan (state average ~609 per filing). Assets: $4.1B.

#8,808
in Finance & Insurance (8,869 peers)
+14.4%
assets growth YoY
41×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

The Principal Select Savings Plan's outsized position by total assets

The Principal Select Savings Plan vs every filed plan by assets

End-of-year total assets · plan year 2023 · DOL Form 5500

$4,134,174,305 Highest reported value at or above every one of 127,068 filed plans

This plan $0 $2,050,000,000 every filed plan with reported assets, bucketed by value

Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among filed plans.

Source U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA) · plan year 2023

The Principal Select Savings Plan's mega-plan peer group by participant headcount

Plan-year 2023 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. The Principal Select Savings Plan is a mega filing (12,827 participants), the rightmost band on the breakdown.

What changed between DOL Form 5500 filings

plan year 2022 → plan year 2023

  • The Principal Select Savings Plan reported net income rose from -$592M in the plan year 2022 filing to $521M in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • The Principal Select Savings Plan end-of-year assets rose from $3.6B in the plan year 2022 filing to $4.1B in the plan year 2023 filing.
  • The Principal Select Savings Plan reported participants rose from 12,201 in the plan year 2022 filing to 12,827 in the plan year 2023 filing.

See the national 2022→2023 release diff →

DOL schedule card

Filing strip 421520346 · Principal Financial Group, Inc. PY 2023 · 401(k)

The Principal Select Savings Plan · $4.1B · 12,827 · 100th

  • EOY $4.1B
  • 5500 12,827
  • ASSETS 100th
  • PCT 401(k)
  • EIN near Bnsf Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • RANK ind #8808

Stamps derive from this plan's Form 5500 line items (assets, participants, type, EIN, cohort placement) - not a quality rating of the sponsor. Read with Finance & Insurance retirement plans → · Plans in Iowa →

The Principal Select Savings Plan in the asset neighbourhood

Thomson Reuters 401(k) Savings PlanThomson Reuters 401(k) Savin…$4.1BBnsf Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement PlanBnsf Railway Company Non-Sal…$4.1BDeutsche Bank Matched Savings PlanDeutsche Bank Matched Saving…$4.1BThe Principal Select Savings PlanThe Principal Select Savings…$4.1BVmware Inc. 401(k) Savings PlanVmware Inc. 401(k) Savings P…$4.1B
End-of-year total assets ($B) among The Principal Select Savings Plan and nearest nationwide 401(k) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023.

Iowa filing particulars

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$3.6B
Net Assets (End of Year)$4.1B
Net Income$521M
Employer EIN421520346
Plan Effective Date1985-01-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Principal Financial Group, Inc.)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Principal Financial Group, Inc. plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$6.1B 16.49531919009572% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$5B$5.5B$6B$6.5B 202220232024 $5.21B $6.07B ▲ +16.5%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 4 36,517 $5.2B
2023 3 25,319 $5.9B
2024 3 24,786 $6.1B

Nearby 401(k) Plans in Iowa

Peer 401(k) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

The Principal Select Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Iowa, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. 0200004000060000 12345 Total assets ($B) Participants The Principal Select Savings Plan, Total assets ($B): 4.134174305 · Participants: 12827The Principal Select Savings PlanIowa Health System Section 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.955731563 · Participants: 28959Iowa Health System Section 401(k) Retirement Savings PlanThe Hy-Vee and Affiliates 401(k) Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.941182172 · Participants: 56181The Hy-Vee and Affiliates 401(k) PlanThe Rsm US LLP Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.890404508 · Participants: 14720The Rsm US LLP Retirement PlanTransamerica 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, Total assets ($B): 2.425600114 · Participants: 6999Transamerica 401(k) Retirement Savings PlanMidamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan, Total assets ($B): 1.705430338 · Participants: 5056Midamerican Energy Company Retirement Savings Plan
The Principal Select Savings Plan vs. nearby 401(k) plans in Iowa, assets vs. participants
Compare The Principal Select Savings Plan side-by-side with 3 peers →

Scale composition for The Principal Select Savings Plan

The Principal Select Savings Plan reports $4.1B in end-of-year assets across 12,827 participants (0.034% of the $12.3T held by all Form 5500 filers in the national rollup , and 0.014% of 93,925,755 covered participants) - about $322,303 per participant (2.3x the national average assets-per-participant) . Net income for plan year 2023 was $521M.

This plan identity (EIN 421520346, plan #003) has 3 Form 5500 filings on file from 2022 to 2024 , with end-of-year assets moving from $3.6B to $4.6B (+26.7%) while covered participants moved from 12,201 to 12,841 . Single-year sparse filers cannot show that trail.

Plan year Participants EOY assets Filing
2022 12,201 $3.6B Open filing
2023 12,827 $4.1B This page
2024 · index core 12,841 $4.6B Open filing

The same sponsor also keeps 2 other index-core plans on PlainRetire:

The Principal Select Savings Plan's out-of-state 401(k) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Iowa, the nearest 401(k) by assets is Bnsf Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan in TX ($4.1B); by covered participants it is Verizon Savings & Security Plan for New York and New England Associates in NJ (12,824 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Closest by plan assets

Nearest other-state filings by tot_assets_eoy ($4.1B here).

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (12,827 participants); asset peers above are excluded.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2023. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did The Principal Select Savings Plan assets move in 2023? ▼
The Principal Select Savings Plan grew at a solid clip - up 14.4% during 2023, from $3.6B to $4.1B. Reported net income was $521M.
How have Principal Financial Group, Inc. plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Principal Financial Group, Inc.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 16.5%, from $5.2B to $6.1B.
Where does The Principal Select Savings Plan rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
The Principal Select Savings Plan ranks in the 100th percentile by end-of-year assets among 127,072 plans that reported assets for plan year 2023 (among the largest 1% of all filed plans).
Which 401(k) plans are similar in size to The Principal Select Savings Plan? ▼
Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by assets is Bnsf Railway Company Non-Salaried Employees 401(k) Retirement Plan in TX ($4.1B, 25,966 participants).
Which 401(k) plans cover a similar participant headcount to The Principal Select Savings Plan? ▼
Among 401(k) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Verizon Savings & Security Plan for New York and New England Associates in NJ (12,824 participants, $5.4B in assets).

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Form 5500 public disclosure dataset. Plan year 2023.

Source: DOL EFAST2 filing system (efast.dol.gov) - original filing retrieval by EIN 421520346.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA). See our methodology for details.