Employer · plans filed under one EIN
Principal Life Insurance Company
Des Moines, IA · Finance and insurance
Form 5500 information is as filed by the plan administrator with the Department of Labor and may be amended. Figures reflect the plan year shown, not current balances.
3 retirement plans with 100 or more participants file Form 5500 under Principal Life Insurance Company's employer identification number (Des Moines, Iowa). Their latest filings total 174,102 participant records and $1.38B in net assets.
The largest is Principal Ease 401(k) Plan, a 401(k) plan with 163,954 participants. A person can be counted in more than one plan, so the participant total is a count of records rather than of people.
Employer contributions across the plans were $65.7M and participant contributions $150M in the latest plan years; benefits paid were $192M. Schedule C compensation reported to service provider organisations totalled $8.3M.
Combined net assets moved from $312M in 2021 to $732M in 2025 (up 134%). Plan mergers and spin-offs show up here as steps in the series.
Plans
| Plan | Kind | Plan year | Participants | Net assets | Per participant | Employer / active | Sch. C compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principal Ease 401(k) Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 163,954 | $651M | $3,970 | $254 | $6.6M |
| Thrivewise Pooled Employer Plan | 401(k) plan | 2025 | 9,531 | $732M | $76,786 | $3,132 | $1.7M |
| The Navigator 401(k) Plan | 401(k) plan | 2024 | 617 | — | — | — | $0 |
| US median, plan year 2024: DC plans $53,102 per participant, $2,175 employer contribution per active participant; DB plans $86,221 and $10,244. | |||||||
Trend by plan year
| Plan year | Plans | Participant records | Net assets | Employer contributions | Participant contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 9,531 | $732M | $24.9M | $49.8M |
| 2024 | 3 | 174,411 | $1.65B | $75.0M | $158M |
| 2023 | 2 | 117,769 | $1.25B | $53.3M | $116M |
| 2022 | 2 | 62,425 | $742M | $32.7M | $61.7M |
| 2021 | 2 | 14,719 | $312M | $9.5M | $18.4M |
History of the plans listed above, in the years each filed the full Form 5500 with 100 or more participants. Plans that have since terminated are not included.
Service providers
| Organisation | Services reported | Plans | Compensation reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal Life Insurance Company | Contract Administrator; Participant loan processing | 2 | $5,973,321 |
| Creative Planning, LLC | Consulting (pension); Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $810,903 |
| Principal Securities Inc. | Other services | 1 | $211,100 |
| Osaic Wealth Inc. | Other services | 1 | $101,156 |
| LPL Financial LLC | Other services | 1 | $79,632 |
| Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. | Other services | 1 | $73,466 |
| Park Avenue Securities | Investment advisory (plan); Other services | 1 | $62,045 |
| Northwestern Mutual Investment Serv | Other services | 1 | $58,693 |
| Ameriprise Financial Services LLC. | Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $48,931 |
| LPL Financial LLC - RPCP | Investment advisory (plan) | 1 | $45,699 |
| RBC Capital Markets LLC | Other services | 1 | $44,785 |
| Global Retirement Partners LLC | — | 1 | $41,501 |
| New York Life Securities | Other services | 1 | $41,350 |
| Cadaret Grant & Co. Inc. | Consulting (pension) | 1 | $30,271 |
| Spartan Wealth Management | Consulting (pension) | 1 | $17,382 |
Organisations paid $5,000 or more by any of these plans, from Schedule C. Individuals are not shown.
Questions and answers
How many retirement plans does Principal Life Insurance Company have?
3 plans with 100 or more participants filed Form 5500 under its employer identification number for the latest plan years: Principal Ease 401(k) Plan, Thrivewise Pooled Employer Plan and The Navigator 401(k) Plan. Smaller plans and plans filed under a subsidiary's number are not grouped here.
How much does Principal Life Insurance Company contribute to its plans?
$65,746,501 in employer contributions across these plans in their latest plan years, about $388 per active participant record. Form 5500 reports totals and not the match or accrual formula.
Who provides services to these plans?
Schedule C filings name Principal Life Insurance Company, Creative Planning, LLC, Principal Securities Inc. and Osaic Wealth Inc. and others. Only organisations paid $5,000 or more by a plan are listed on Schedule C.
Where does this come from?
Form 5500 annual reports filed with the Department of Labor's EFAST2 system, from the EBSA research files, with filings received through 24 Aug 2026. Figures are as filed and may be amended.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Form 5500 research files, public domain, with filings received through 24 Aug 2026. Plans are grouped by the sponsor's employer identification number exactly as filed; a company that files under several EINs appears as several employers. See the methodology and corrections.