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Principal Financial Group

Engaged Employer

Great place to work if you can handle the jargon and red tape - Software Engineer II Principal Financial Group Employee Review

4.0
Nov 23, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Generally has a very good work culture, excellent benefits and perks, and people are mostly professional. Depending on where you're at, you might be able to do work that feels somewhat meaningful. Some of the perks include unlimited time off (that they actually encourage you to take), walkstations, and a gym/health-center. Compensation seems fairly average.

Cons

Lots of corporate jargon used, and some of the financial concepts can be tough to grasp depending on your field. A company this size also means that when you have an issue, you might have to find a few different people before you get to someone who can help, and you may have to submit tickets and wait on them in the process. You also likely have on-call duties if you're an engineer, which can vary widely depending on your team's applications. No overnight on-call though, they're 12-hour shifts.

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Principal Financial Group Response
6mo
Thank you for taking the time to write a thoughtful review! We appreciate hearing about your personal experience and are glad to learn that you enjoy working with your team members and our unique work perks. Please know your feedback is invaluable for us as we continue to learn, grow, and improve.

Explore other reviews about Principal Financial Group

5.0
Jun 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

good FTO policy good opportunity for career development flexible work arrangements

Cons

health insurance sucks - United annual reviews- everything's made up and the points don't matter more and more pressure to be in-office despite team members being remote

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Principal Financial Group Response
5d
Thank you for taking the time to provide this feedback. Your input is valuable as we work to improve as an employer.
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.

1
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Principal Financial Group Response
2w
We appreciate you sharing your feedback. As a leader in retirement solutions and employee benefits, we strive to provide our employees with a competitive benefits package. Our global pay philosophy is guided by market-driven principles. and we leverage third-party market data to ensure our base salary and incentives remain appropriately competitive.
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