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Principal Financial Group

Engaged Employer

Uninspired - Sr Software Engineer Principal Financial Group Employee Review

3.0
May 7, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are comprehensive and affordable. Retirement benefits stand out among similar companies. Historically has been viewed as a stable "good" company to work for in the Des Moines area. Campus and fitness center are very nice. Pay is not high, but it is usually fair in most cases.

Cons

Flexibility and rhetoric around work life balance is deteriorating. Even a few years ago, this was a differentiator for Principal. Conservative and slow approach to almost everything. Be prepared for nothing to happen quickly. Lots of workers coming and going. With the churn of employees, culture is shifting in an unusual way. Connections with peers and management are usually not genuine. Pressure on benefits and pay. Many of the changes made in the past 10 years have worked against the employee.

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Principal Financial Group Response
2y
Thank you for taking the time to share experience. We remain committed to flexibility and supporting a variety of work arrangements to help balance the value employees place on flexibility with the value of working together in person when and where we can. We're also invested in building the best possible experience for our employees. It takes all of us to bring our enterprise strategy to fruition. We encourage you to have an open conversation with your leader and team about how you contribute to our success.

Explore other reviews about Principal Financial Group

5.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Three years in and still LOVE it. Great leadership. Work-like balance. Principal invests in their employees with training and professional development. It's very telling when literally thousands of employees have been there for 20-25-30+ years.

Cons

First time in a large company. Sometimes it is tricky to find the right internal partner to get the answer you need.

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Principal Financial Group Response
3d
We appreciate your feedback! Hearing that you felt supported reinforces what we're proud of—the strong community we've built together.
2.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent work life balance and benefits. Principal offers a pension which is unheard of in today’s age.

Cons

Pay is below average and Principal does not offer inflation raises. Once you hit the midpoint of your salary, you will get a 0% raise until you’re promoted, which will take multiple years regardless of performance. Performance reviews are vague and often used against employees to avoid promotions. At least in my department, I’ve yet to see any of the remote workers be promoted. This is starting to affect attrition and we’re already starting to see people leaving. It’s well known at this point that the best way to get promoted is to leave Principal and get rehired, which even leadership has stated publicly. This is a huge frustration and blow to morale, as it starts to feel like employees need to compete against their co-workers for raises.

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