Principal Financial Group (PFG)

10 award-winning companies tell how they did it in new guide from The
Principal

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
As the nation continues rebuilding from the economic crisis, a new guide
offers lessons from 10 award-winning companies that not only survived
but thrived during the downturn.

Their formula for success? Protect the financial security of the
business by helping protect employee financial security.

The new benefits best practices guide tells how The Principal^????
10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security 2009 remained
committed to strong employee benefits, even during the worst part of the
economic downturn.

????Taking care of your employees takes care of everything else. They are
your greatest asset,????? said Glenn Siler, president and CEO, Knoxville TVA
Employees Credit Union, one of The Principal 10 Best 2009.

Selected by an independent panel of renowned benefits experts, The
Principal 10 Best Companies found ways to strike a balance between
budgets and benefits despite unprecedented financial pressures.

????The Principal 10 Best
Companies view benefits as more of
an investment than an expense,????? said Luke Vandermillen, vice president,
the Principal Financial Group^????, sponsor of the national
program which focuses on small- and medium-sized companies. ????They
used commitment, creativity and communication to help protect the
financial security of employees during one of the most financially
insecure times in U.S. history.?????

The new guide delves into the best practices of these successful
organizations, whose stories range from rebuilding entire benefit
programs to making simple????but effective????enhancements. Organizations
profiled range from banks and credit unions to foundations, associations
and publishers.

The guide is a useful resource for benefits brokers and advisors and
their clients including business owners, CFOs, human resources
executives and others.

Available at no charge at www.principal.com/bestguide,
the guide offers:

• 
  A benchmarking chart for comparing their benefits with those of The
  Principal 10 Best Companies and national averages
  


• 
  Easy-to-use checklists that
  can help companies fine-tune
  their benefits programs
  


• 
  Compelling case studies that describe how The Principal 10
  Best Companies navigated the economic crisis
  

????One of the most important things companies can do is benchmark their
benefits. But it????s also important to find innovative approaches to
managing benefits,????? said Corey Rosen, executive director and founder,
National Center for Employee Ownership and judge for The Principal 10
Best. ????This guide is a great resource, highlighting tactics that
people may not have thought of but would be easy to imitate.?????

Profiles of the 2009 winners are available at www.principal.com/10best.

About The Principal 10 Best Companies Program

The Principal 10 Best Companies is a national program that
recognizes small- and medium-sized companies that excel at giving their
employees a financial edge. Entries for the 2010 recognition will be
accepted beginning February 1, 2010. For more information, visit www.principal.com/10best.

About The Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group^???? (The Principal ^????)¹
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 $280.4
billion in assets under management² and serves some 18.6
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.

Insurance products and plan administrative services are provided by
Principal Life Insurance Company, a member of the Principal Financial
Group^???? (The Principal^????), Des Moines, IA 50392.

Copyright ???? 2010 Principal Financial Services, Inc. All rights reserved

#136012012

¹ "The Principal Financial Group" and ????The Principal????? are
registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member
of the Principal Financial Group.

² As of September 30, 2009

Source: The Principal Financial Group