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Principal Financial Group

Engaged employer

Some good-some bad, but the good was not good enough. - Software Engineer Principal Financial Group Employee Review

3.0
16 Oct 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

*There a some super smart and friendly people working at PFG that make the work experience fantastic. *Some interesting work if you can get into the right department/project.

Cons

*New software engineering employee on-boarding is awful across several departments/projects. *The tech debt is MASSIVE. *Your job satisfaction and opportunities to grow as an engineer are very dependent on the department your in, the team your on, your lead and your manager. *The work culture they promote is pretty much smoke and mirrors. *Salaries and benefit were shrinking while their profit were hitting all time highs. *There were some super smart and helpful engineers that want to see you succeed but there were also some that were smug, arrogant and seem to make working with them intentionally unbearable.

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Principal Financial Group Response
1y
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We're invested in building the best possible experience for our employees and read all Glassdoor reviews. In that spirit we encourage you to visit the HR Service Center to provide your feedback.

Explore other reviews about Principal Financial Group

5.0
28 May 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
1w
We appreciate your feedback! Hearing that you felt supported reinforces what we're proud of—the strong community we've built together.
2.0
4 Jun 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
14h
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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