Principal Financial Group Inc. has announced a turnkey savings tool to help employees boost retirement savings, and separately Fitch Ratings affirmed its debt ratings.
The Principal Step Ahead Retirement Option lets plan participants automatically increase their contributions by a set percentage each year, countering the inertia that research says often hampers saving for retirement, the company said Monday.
An Employee Benefits Research Institute survey this year on retirement confidence found that fewer than one-third of retirement plan savers increased contributions to their plans last year.
Fitch Ratings said Monday that it had affirmed the senior debt and long-term and short-term issuer ratings for Principal Financial Group; an intermediate holding company, Principal Financial Services Inc.; and the parent's insurance subsidiaries. In addition, the ratings agency affirmed its AA insurer financial strength ratings and A-plus surplus note rating for Principal Life Insurance Co. The rating outlook is stable, it said.
