I recently joined an employer that uses Principal for their 401k. I’m coming from another investor that has a highly functional and well done UI, where I can (and did) literally everything from the app. Sadly, Principal has the worst UI I’ve ever seen. It lags, it takes so long to open a link I usually forget what I came to do. I literally hate this app. I don’t think it’s meant for users of the age that really leverage their phones/apps to interact with their portfolios. This is the kind of app that my grandmother would use, which means not at all. I think they have this app just to say they have one, but clearly have invested nothing in the UX.
I don’t understand how these medical insurance companies don’t have the ability to develop apps that are actually useful. If you are trying to find dental care with this app, good luck. It’s probably one of the worst that I have ever used. The search function is really wonky and difficult to use, not to mention the availability of dentists that take this insurance is incredibly limited. When I do find one like 20 miles away, and I go off the app to check their reviews and ratings, not only are ALL of them rated three stars and under, but if I take more than one minute to locate the practice and check them out online before making an appointment, I’m logged out of the app “for my privacy”. It’s already such a pain trying to find appropriate care, this app is making it infinitely harder than it needs to be. It’s gotta to be my sixth or seventh time having to log back in this morning going back-and-forth to check out different dental providers. There should be an option to keep you logged in, by your own choice - not by the app deciding you’ve been away too long because you take a minute to check someone out on Yelp. Ridic.
I was very frustrated when I had learned my old employee rolled my IRA to a different financial group, then I look online and see all the horror stories about Principal Financial and their app. I had no choice but to find out for myself because that’s where my money is. Let me just say I’ve had zero problems with the app, zero problems with the company, and would recommend anyone who is on the fence about it to just try it for yourself. I was waiting to be disappointed and to my surprise I’ve had nothing but a positive experience.
A pet peeve of mine is when the “new and improved version” of something means lost functionality. Exhibit A would be the fact that you no longer get calculated monthly contribution feedback when you are deciding what percentage to contribute to each account. This was incredibly helpful in the “old” app. And the fact that I cannot see how the varying contributions will affect my family's finances until after I commit my changes is not an improvement. Am I expected to sit there with a calculator next to my phone so that I can make an informed decision. How is that an improvement? Plus I now have to navigate into sub menus to do things that were previously easy and informative. As far as I can see there is nothing new, they just moved stuff around and dumbed down the interface.
First, I’m not sure why I’m required to have two factor authorization to check my dental insurance coverage. My banking app doesn’t even require that. It’s a pain and seems like overkill. Second, it’s very difficult to find my coverage. I tried searching for “x-rays”, and nothing came up. It appears I may be able to find my entire coverage by downloading a pdf of the full benefits, but that again seems like overkill. Most insurance apps have a “quick view” of your coverage so you don’t have to search through the entire coverage document. Additionally, downloading the PDF requires me to login in again, which is dumb because I’m already logged in. Just overall not very user friendly at all in my experience.
I tried logging out from 401K view and it said I was logged out; however, when I Hit back arrow it went back into my 401k account without making me log in again. The only way I could “permanently “ logout was to go to settings and then select log out. This bug should be fixed in this app. To protect people’s accounts the app should fully log out when it says it has!
I find the app is slow to respond (just like their website) and it lacks some helpful information that I used to get from my previous plan custodian. 1. I have yet to find a place in the app where it tells you your “cost” by investment (ie: how much you paid vs how much your investment is worth). This was extremely helpful in identifying which investments were making or losing money. Now all you get is an overall percentage of your gain or loss. 2. Retirement planning resources will only let you project your true retirement income when you have a pension when you retire at normal retirement age. There is no option to include or even calculate your pension benefit for special early or even just standard early retirement. 3. Adding retirement resources is severely lacking. You can link accounts which is great but manually adding leaves a lot to be desired. As much as I disliked my previous plan custodian because of their reputation, I have to give them props for their app and website and the functionality. Principal’s has so far been a disappointment.
There is nothing impressive about the app unless you just want to see the balance. The login experience is the worst of any financial app I have ever seen, and that’s saying something. They keep promising changes to the login and I keep having to manually sign in, despite having set up Face ID 100 times over. The updated version of the app REMOVES the feature that handshakes with Apple’s password keychain, so you have to remember your password. “Remember for 90 Days” is a fake feature that lasted only 1 day, probably because they had to roll out another bug fix. The best review I have seen is “This is your grandma’s UX and the product manager should be fired.” Has anyone ever even tested this before pushing it to production?
I defy anyone to attempt to find the transaction history on their account. Should be simple, but nearly impossible to find. And if you do find it, the information is extremely opaque. Just random credits and debits, but not explained or itemized or linked to any specific holding. Beyond that, try navigating to see a profile (strategy, expenses, holdings) of any of your investment holdings. That’s always 8 clicks and long waits between each until you finally land on a Morningstar report. It should never be this difficult. Can’t wait until I can move my money to a real investment firm that cares. A complete disaster of an app. Embarrassingly bad. I’d say “do better” but they clearly can’t or won’t.
Apparently you CAN’T Upload your check via the app!!!
Being able to upload a check is so much easier than having to mail it. Especially given that I’m not comfortable putting a check for 6 figures into an envelope for FedEx. Principal touts their app as making this rollover easy. Hooray right? No. Apparently you CAN’T do it through the app. I even called their customer service and the guy on the line was really annoyed because he thought I was an idiot. But when I literally talked through every single screen I came across following his instructions on the phone, he was genuinely confused by the fact that I had no ability to take a photo and upload my rollover check. What an absolute disappointment.
With the app, since they’ve changed the log in experience, this mobile app version is far inferior to the desktop browser experience. I’ve experienced numerous issues with the app crashing, logging me out unexpectedly while using, and interface bugginess (sometimes things fit on the screen, sometimes not). I wish they had better developers on their team, this is sad. Have they even tested the app before making it public? Also, stop responding to reviews by telling people to “shake their phone.” Such a ridiculous response to obvious widespread issues with your app.
Lacks major financial aspects and planning tools: only total account value listed without separate listings for traditional and Roth holdings (really?!?), and in retirement planner no way to designate when one will start taking SS payments (which is huge for planning!!), or to designate upcoming inheritance and date, and only one entry provided for additional retirement elements outside of linked accounts. I’d rate their app and website a C- given that this is supposed to be a major financial institution; very disappointing. Our company’s 401K plan was recently purchased from Wells Fargo to manage and the PFG app, website, and customer service lacks in comparison. Step up your game PFG!
Touch ID - finally! Overall interface is much improved over previous version - however, half of my account information is missing, showing $.00. When selecting, gives error message “try again later”. This is a major problem! I’m switching back to the older version until this is fixed. Rolling out an updated version without adequate testing is unacceptable. You guys can do better. Updated version STILL doesn’t work! Unable to see half of my account information. I’ve called multiple times and talked to people at Principal to no avail. This app is worthless. Test stuff before you roll it out. Unbelievable failure - again!
While it doesn’t have all the functionality of the desktop website (which is also quite good!) the Principal mobile app never let me down. Super easy to use when you want to adjust your investment choices in your retirement funds, and the vision/dental portion worked just fine for me though my needs were few. I wish more financial apps were of this quality.
I had very few issues with the prior app, but in the past three weeks, I can’t get the app to even launch. I select the Principal icon and then after 25 seconds of nothing, it kicks me back to my main phone screen. Touch ID used to work but I don’t even get that far now. I’ve deleted and reinstalled the Principal app several times with no success. I’m forced to use a browser to get my account balances. Too bad!
Gives limited information. Had 2 minutes to look at what the app does before it asked for a rating and review. Updated review: I’d like to see my positions, i.e. Symbol, quantity, last price, change, current value, YTD gain/loss, and overall gain. I’d like to see a summary view in graphical form showing gain/loss, for YTD or a date range. What would be extraordinary would be to show my asset allocation by large, mid and small cap, as well as domestic/international, developed/emerging, REITs, etc. Also show me the dollars paid for fees and the percentage cost to me, as the 401K owner. This would demonstrate that Principal is interested in showing account holders what’s being done on an individual basis and the organization is then more accountable to the 401K owners.
The app is really nice and easy to use to set up a 401k through your job, I didn’t make one for the longest time thinking it was a huge process until I got this app, and with a few simple buttons I was already on my way to saving. The only downside I have with this app are the loading problems it seems to have at times, if I’m not on WiFi it takes a bit longer for stuff to pop up but it’s not a huge ordeal.
So secure I cannot access my accounts with multiple 2-factoring
Way too much 2-factor authentication. Today when I logged in then again when I want to access my 401-k. Can’t seem to remember any device of mine for more than 24 hours. Open the app, then wasn’t to check a balance? Forwarding to our website! What’s the point of having an app? I got better results using the website where the 2-factor authentication actually lasted a week or so sometimes. Deleting and just using the crappy website until they can improve. Maybe it’s time to move all of my investments to Fidelity, where the app is great and seamless between my different accounts.
Disclosure, I have a 401k with self trading ability within the account. Account is much more iPhone screen friendly. Layout is better and more information with less clicks then previous app. But app is still lacking options to make changes to my self trading account. In fact it missing all information of the account (at least previous app opened a web browser). This “NEW” app doesn’t even acknowledge I have the ability. Overall I would say better but not the were it should be.
I talked to an agent to move my money and they advised me to have bank to request. 3 weeks later nothing. My stocks drop $500. I call back oh we received it but we don’t take 3d party requests. Hello you just COST me $500 with your advice. No I have someone that they assure me that it will come to me with my verbal over the phone. 10 days later no check. Next call oh we have to wait untill your employer signs off that I have not contributed to in 10+ years. Now I get hung up on. We contacted your employer earlier and and earlier today. Would not tell me who they contacted or when they contacted. Hung up on me 2 times.
I would agree with the 3/20 review - there isn’t much to the app and for any little thing extra (like viewing your loan balance) you need to go to the website. However if you access the website via a smartphone (iPhone in my case) instead of a computer , that isn’t a very pleasant experience either. I had trouble retrieving statements and I finally had to give up looking for my loan balance via the phone and went in through my computer. If you want some quick stats like your account balance and rate of return, then it’s fine. To be fair, i didn’t try to change my investment options so I don’t know how that works.
I can’t get back on my account through the mobile app
I recently tried to get on the principal app, after resetting my password, and the mobile app would not let me login. I call Principal to see if they could resolve the issue, and they were unable to help me. I can login into my account on my laptop, but not the mobile app. Someone help please!
Great improvements over the prior app, linking in more account types as well as seamless links without logging in again to the full website on a mobile browser for content not included in the app. The only thing I miss: Personalized Rate of Return for each investment subaccount within 401(k) plans. It is available for the composite portfolio, just not for the individual investments used like it is on the full site. I REALLY miss this feature in the app!
For some reason, and for the Principal app only vs other investment companies I use, there are no options that allow on-line withdrawals. All Principal requests require paper documents that have to be mailed. Processing is unpredictable based on my experience taking anywhere from 8 days to 3 weeks. I’m considering moving my business to another company. Also, during my recent phone call trying to find out the status of a withdrawal request, the agent told me that the paperwork just barely arrived (I mailed it almost 3 weeks ago) - sounds like a lie to me!
Just downloaded the application today so far so good for me because it make everything easy as ABC now and on a clear platform too plus i can make changes to my profile and add beneficiary to my account as needed. I’m loving it. Thank you for this idea
There are several things I do not like about Principle. First it seems that the elective stocks that Principle has picked for us have lost money since the first day we have been given them. Principle doesn’t seem to be doing anything to change different stocks that would earn us a profit. They just send out these statements that show how much money we are losing. They need to have someone contact us by phone and talk us through all of this stuff. They don’t seem to care about their clients. If I knew how to change to some other broker, I would do it in a heartbeat.
I hope that the designers read this please. This app doesn’t tell you recent transactions at all. This is very important info that’s missed. There is no personal return rate anywhere I use this information to compare accounts. When Wells Fargo was servicing the account the app was way better. Seeing as how Bank of America is the parent company of principal this app could be better. I am considering rolling my money to a different bank because of the missing information that is not covered in the app.
New App is good for looking at gross account balances and that’s about it. As I scroll sideways I can only see the first three columns and then the screen shifts back to the first column. So don’t bother trying to check on whether a particular holding us up or down for the day, because you just can’t see it. The app also only works in the portrait mode which is pretty much useless when your portfolio is in a spreadsheet format many columns wide. Why the developers don’t program the app to shift to landscape when you turn your phone 90°, I’ll never know. So sad such a large company has such an embarrassing app.
The app doesn’t work yet again after a recent update. If you guys would forewarn me before I upgrade that the app may not launch and if it does will randomly shut down for no reason. I’ve never been overly impressed with any version of the app, but could at the very least check my balance on my retirement account. This is not rocket science because every business on the planet has a mobile app nowadays. How can I feel comfortable with your ability to invest my retirement money if you can’t get someone to develop a decent mobile app that actually works when I need to use it?
It doesn’t work. Can’t even sign in. Saw others say the same thing in early June. Still not fixed. I’ve reviewed the old app with a poor score. This is even worse. I can’t understand how a company that size could consistently sell their customers short. SMH. Update: it opens now. Raised to 3 stars. However, it’s not very interactive. At least I can see a balance. You have to go to the website if you want to look at any details.
The app navigation is generally poor for anything than looking at graphs or change the allocation. The ability to make investment changes is hidden deep behind several links and once you get to the page a warning says it’s best to use the laptop - hint, it’s serving a desktop page that does not fit on the phone screen. Yet another bottom feeder investment app I’m forced to use because that’s what my employer chose.
Seems for the last few updates I am unable to change my contribution rates via the app. I keep getting an error that “something requires further attention” but there is nothing else to look at. There a 2 contribution rates to see on my end, 401k and Roth. Neither will change. Sometimes I’m unable to access my accounts and it doesn’t give a reason. FYI , I have sizable rollover that I’m afraid to rollover into your company due to limited access nature of my account.
poor execution in handling customer service requests; agent was not knowledgeable about his/her job and put me on hold multiple times 10-15min in each instance avoiding every detail of my request. I had to keep repeating myself over and over to no avail. Agent kept attempting to separate me from my request to complicate the process beyond two steps choosing to operate outside outside the 4 corners from any contract to release funds. Very poor customer service skills, lackadaisical attitude and no sense of urgency period regarding there job
Apps like this actually aren't allowed on the App Store. Not sure why it was allowed to slip by. If all ypur app does is iframe your website, it's better served as a mobile friendly website (from the Apple Developer Guidelines). They already have a website, and if I realized that all this app was going to do was ask me for my credentials, 2 factor authentication, then forward me to the website where it asks me for two factor AGAIN as soon as I selected my plan, I woulda just opened the website to begin with!
This is not a real app. Investment portfolios open in an external browser. Those screenshots in the store do not clearly show that. The app only has overview of employer benefits, contact and some other information. It’s dangerous for a financial platform - closing the app means the session is probably still open in the browser. I tried it closed the app but was able to continue working in the browser.
The app repeatedly has asked me to login again and again. It’s happened again today. If not login problems, the app is under maintenance, which happens often. It doesn’t make sense as I’m logging in from the same iPhone I’ve had for years. How is it that I never had these login issues with other financial apps like Fidelity, Schwab, and vanguard. It’s just this Principal app, over and over again. I really wish my employer would use another company, not Principal.
PFG is an extremely professional company. They offer excellent 401K plans and their website is very user friendly. PFG is not typically out in front for new and innovative ideas, but they do provide those items after they have been proven in the marketplace!
The Principal website explicitly mentions that I can deposit a rollover check to my 401k using the mobile app. Whenever I try doing this in the iPhone app, there is no option to do so. When entering info for the rollover (including indicating that I have a check on hand to deposit), there is no option to take a photo of the check. In fact, when entering information for a rollover, it looks like the app redirects to a web wrapper. Please fix this immediately.
I have an iPhone 7. I click on the app, it pulls up a blue screen that says Principal, stays on that screen for maybe 7-10 seconds...AND THEN CLOSES!! I try about a dozen times and give up. Some days it opens and other days it doesn’t. Pretty useless app if it doesn’t work. Update: They fixed the bug and I can log in now so I changed my rating from 1 to 3 stars. I will update if this continues to happen.
To roll over my Roth account has been difficult, I just gave up. And the application doesn’t take my face scan for my password so I have to either try a few times and get locked out or reset my password. It’s extremely annoying. Look forward to the day I can stop using this application.
Product manager needs to be fired. Used to be a great app, now it just turn into a buggy browser with no back to previous button. Now there is no way to return to previous page. Every time you click back will bring you to main page and you have to wait like 20 seconds for the content to load again. And so many times the page is not displayed properly.
There is delete account option in the setting menu. "log out" option is a bit too of this option. I originally plan to just log out from my account, but I mis clicked the "delete account" button.....It's soooooooo terrible to have this option in the app. Close or delete account option for the retirement plan shouldn't be given in an app...paticularly in the same page of log out. It's soooooo easy to mis click......
All the numbers are there but new version takes on iPhone screen orientation on my iPad. The 2x makes it even bigger laying on its side. I’m sure this will be fine on my phone but look for something more suitable for iPad, kinda like the last version.
There was limited access to data and no access to my profile. Had to click on separate link to internet access of the main website. Had to re-sign in to access the details of my account so easy of access is ridiculous. Also have to give up right to receive a hard copy of your account just to access your information online. This seems shady.
401k management is fine - app ruined with last update
The new app update has killed functionality in the app. It’s slower, less responsive, feels more like a site wrapper than a functional app. Previously easily accessible info is no longer easy to find and the app seems to log me out constantly. Hopefully we see some actual improvements with further updates.
Old version worked fine but since 2.x came out I wait and wait and wait for it to open, to move to a new page when I tap on anything, just every move leads to waiting 30 seconds or more for anything to load. That’s when it loads at all. Often after a long wait I get a n error message or crash. Very frustrating when version 1.x had none of these problems. I’ve given up n the app for now and am just logging in through safari.
I use the app to look at my 401k account. I can easily see: balances, transaction history, fund allocation, contribution rate. I changed my contribution rate and it was super easy. First login was so smooth thanks to iOS remembering my password and the auto-filing of the text confirmation number.
I don’t understand why I can only see my balance as of 1-2 business days earlier, rather than in real time. My previous 401k provider was showing me almost in real time my daily gains/losses. My paycheck contributions also take FOREVER to hit my account. Waiting a week or more for the contribution to post is really disappointing. Should really be 1-2 business days at most.
Disappointing App - bunch of error messages received
The app doesn’t allow for rollover checks to be processed through the app (even though there is a baked in feature for it). I have an iPhone 11 so it’s nothing to do with my phone. The rollover feature gives me error messages saying it cannot process my check. So I tried again and then the app tells me that my check has already been processed. I called Principle to verify that my check went through and the customer service representative said the check never went through. The customer service representative confirmed there were no restrictions on my account and the error messages were a result of solely the Principle app. Additionally, the feature to report a bug by shaking my phone doesn’t work as well.
I’m not sure why an app is necessary when the account information is just displayed in the in-app browser. Also, FaceID fails whenever I update the app, which defeats the purpose of having a FaceID feature or even updating the app. It’s easier just to use the Safari browser to login. At least that way my ID and password are saved onto the device.
