1. Nature of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Principal Financial Group, Inc. (“PFG”) have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial statements and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ended December 31, 2017. These interim unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our annual audited financial statements as of December 31, 2016, included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The accompanying consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2016, has been derived from the audited consolidated statement of financial position but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements.

Consolidation

We have relationships with various special purpose entities and other legal entities that must be evaluated to determine if the entities meet the criteria of a variable interest entity (“VIE”) or a voting interest entity (“VOE”). This assessment is performed by reviewing contractual, ownership and other rights, including involvement of related parties, and requires use of judgment. First, we determine if we hold a variable interest in an entity by assessing if we have the right to receive expected losses and expected residual returns of the entity. If we hold a variable interest, then the entity is assessed to determine if it is a VIE. An entity is a VIE if the equity at risk is not sufficient to support its activities, if the equity holders lack a controlling financial interest or if the entity is structured with non-substantive voting rights. In addition to the previous criteria, if the entity is a limited partnership or similar entity, it is a VIE if the limited partners do not have the power to direct the entity’s most significant activities through substantive kick-out rights or participating rights. A VIE is evaluated to determine the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is the enterprise with (1) the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (2) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. When we are the primary beneficiary, we are required to consolidate the entity in our financial statements. We reassess our involvement with VIEs on a quarterly basis. For further information about VIEs, refer to Note 2, Variable Interest Entities.

If an entity is not a VIE, it is considered a VOE. VOEs are generally consolidated if we own a greater than 50% voting interest. If we determine our involvement in an entity no longer meets the requirements for consolidation under either the VIE or VOE models, the entity is deconsolidated. Entities in which we have significant management influence over the operating and financing decisions but are not required to consolidate, other than investments accounted for at fair value under the fair value option, are reported using the equity method.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Description	Date of adoption	Effect on our consolidated financial statements or other significant matters
Standards not yet adopted:
Goodwill impairment testing This authoritative guidance simplifies how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 (which measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill to the carrying amount of that goodwill) from the goodwill impairment test. A goodwill impairment loss will be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. Entities will continue to have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine if a quantitative impairment test is necessary. Early adoption is permitted.	January 1, 2020	We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.
Credit losses This authoritative guidance requires entities to use a current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model to measure impairment for most financial assets that are not recorded at fair value through net income. Under the CECL model, an entity will estimate lifetime expected credit losses considering available relevant information about historical events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The CECL model does not apply to available-for-sale debt securities. This guidance also expands the required credit loss disclosures and will be applied using a modified retrospective approach by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. Early adoption is permitted.	January 1, 2020	We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements. We believe estimated credit losses under the CECL model will generally result in earlier loss recognition for loans and other receivables.
Targeted improvements to accounting for hedging activities This authoritative guidance updates certain recognition and measurement requirements for hedge accounting. The objective of the guidance is to more closely align the economics of a company’s risk management activities in its financial results and reduce the complexity of applying hedge accounting. The updates include the expansion of hedging strategies that are eligible for hedge accounting, elimination of the separate measurement and reporting of hedge ineffectiveness, presentation of the changes in the fair value of the hedging instrument in the same consolidated statement of operations line as the earnings effect of the hedged item and simplification of hedge effectiveness assessments. This guidance also includes new disclosures and will be applied using a modified retrospective approach by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. Early adoption is permitted.	January 1, 2019	We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.
Premium amortization on purchased callable debt securities This authoritative guidance applies to entities that hold certain non-contingently callable debt securities, where the amortized cost basis is at a premium to the price repayable by the issuer at the earliest call date. Under the guidance the premium will be amortized to the first call date. This guidance requires adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. Early adoption is permitted.	January 1, 2019	We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.

Description	Date of adoption	Effect on our consolidated financial statements or other significant matters
Leases This authoritative guidance requires lessee recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet. The concept of an operating lease, where the lease assets and liabilities are off balance sheet, is eliminated under the new guidance. For lessors, the guidance modifies lease classification criteria and accounting for certain types of leases. Other key aspects of the guidance relate to the removal of the current real estate-specific guidance and new presentation and disclosure requirements. Lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach, which includes certain optional practical expedients that may be elected. Early adoption is permitted.	January 1, 2019	We have primarily focused our implementation efforts on identifying our leases that are within the scope of the guidance and will be added to our balance sheet. We are currently evaluating other impacts this guidance will have on our consolidated financial statements.
Nonfinancial asset derecognition and partial sales of nonfinancial assets This authoritative guidance clarifies the scope of the recently established guidance on nonfinancial asset derecognition and the accounting for partial sales of nonfinancial assets. The guidance conforms the derecognition guidance on nonfinancial assets with the model for transactions in the new revenue recognition standard.	January 1, 2018	We have nearly completed our evaluation of this guidance and do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Presentation of net periodic pension cost and net periodic postretirement benefit cost This authoritative guidance requires that an employer disaggregate the service cost component from the other components of net benefit cost. The guidance also provides explicit guidance on the presentation of the service cost component and the other components of net benefit cost in the consolidated statement of operations and allows only the service cost component of net benefit cost to be eligible for capitalization.	January 1, 2018	This guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Definition of a business This authoritative guidance clarifies the definition of a business to assist with evaluating when transactions involving an integrated set of assets and activities (a “set”) should be accounted for as acquisitions or disposals of assets or businesses. The guidance requires that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired or disposed of is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. The guidance also requires a set to include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create output to be considered a business. Lastly, the guidance removes the evaluation of whether a market participant could replace missing elements and narrows the definition of outputs by more closely aligning it with how outputs are described in the revenue recognition guidance. The guidance will be applied prospectively. Early application is permitted in certain circumstances.	January 1, 2018	We have nearly completed our evaluation of this guidance and do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Description	Date of adoption	Effect on our consolidated financial statements or other significant matters
Financial instruments - recognition and measurement This authoritative guidance addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. The primary focus of this guidance is to supersede the guidance to classify equity securities with readily determinable fair values into different categories (trading or available-for-sale) and rather requires these equity securities to be measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized through net income. This guidance requires adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption.	January 1, 2018	As of September 30, 2017, we did not hold material equity securities accounted for at fair value through other comprehensive income that will be accounted for at fair value through net income under the updated guidance. We have nearly completed our evaluation of this guidance and do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Revenue recognition This authoritative guidance replaces all general and most industry specific revenue recognition guidance currently prescribed by U.S. GAAP. The core principle is that an entity recognizes revenue to reflect the transfer of a promised good or service to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for that good or service. This guidance also provides clarification on when an entity is a principal or an agent in a transaction. In addition, the guidance updates the accounting for certain costs associated with obtaining and fulfilling a customer contract. The guidance may be applied using one of the following two methods: (1) retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented, or (2) retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the standard recognized at the date of initial application.	January 1, 2018	Only a portion of our total revenues, less than 20%, are subject to this guidance as it does not apply to revenue on contracts accounted for under the insurance contracts or financial instruments standards. Our evaluation process is substantially complete and included, but was not limited to, identifying contracts within the scope of the guidance, reviewing and documenting our accounting for these contracts, identifying and determining the accounting for any related contract costs, and preparing the required financial statement disclosures. To date, we have identified financial statement changes related to deferring and amortizing certain sales compensation related to obtaining customer contracts, but we do not expect the impact of these changes to be material. We have not identified material changes in the timing of our revenue recognition. We plan to adopt the guidance on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective application.

Description	Date of adoption	Effect on our consolidated financial statements or other significant matters
Income tax - intra-entity transfers of assets This authoritative guidance requires entities to recognize current and deferred income tax resulting from an intra-entity asset transfer when the transfer occurs. Prior to issuance of this guidance, U.S. GAAP did not allow recognition of income tax consequences until the asset had been sold to a third party. This guidance requires adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption with early adoption permitted.	January 1, 2018	We have nearly completed our evaluation of this guidance and do not expect it to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Standards adopted:
Employee share-based payment accounting This authoritative guidance changes certain aspects of accounting for and reporting share-based payments to employees including changes related to the income tax effects of share-based payments, tax withholding requirements and accounting for forfeitures. Various transition methods will apply depending on the situation being addressed.	January 1, 2017	The guidance was adopted prospectively as indicated by the guidance for each area of change and did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Short-duration insurance contracts This authoritative guidance requires additional disclosures related to short-duration insurance contracts.	December 31, 2016	The disclosure requirements of this guidance were adopted retrospectively.
Net asset value per share as a practical expedient for fair value This authoritative guidance removes the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient.	January 1, 2016	The guidance was adopted retrospectively and did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. See Note 10, Fair Value Measurements, for further details.
Simplifying the presentation of debt issuance costs This authoritative guidance requires debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts.	January 1, 2016	The guidance was adopted retrospectively and did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Consolidations This authoritative guidance makes changes to both the variable interest and voting interest consolidation models and eliminates the investment company deferral for portions of the variable interest model. The amendments in the standard impact the consolidation analysis for interests in investment companies and limited partnerships and similar entities.	January 1, 2016	The guidance was adopted using the modified retrospective approach. See Note 2, Variable Interest Entities, for further details.

When we adopt new accounting standards, we have a process in place to perform a thorough review of the pronouncement, identify the financial statement and system impacts and create an implementation plan among our impacted business units to ensure we are compliant with the pronouncement on the date of adoption. This includes having effective processes and controls in place to support the reported amounts. Each of the standards listed above is in varying stages in our implementation process based on its issuance and adoption dates. We are on track to implement guidance by the respective effective dates.

Derivatives

Over-The-Counter Derivatives Cleared on Chicago Mercantile Exchange

We use certain over-the-counter (“OTC”) interest rate contracts that are subject to derivative clearing agreements. These agreements require the daily cash settlement of variation margin based on changes in the fair value of the derivative instrument. Prior to 2017, variation margin for all such interest rate contracts was treated as collateral, which was accounted for separately as an interest-bearing asset or liability. For reporting purposes, we did not offset fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim variation margin collateral or the obligation to return variation margin collateral against fair value amounts recognized for derivative instruments executed with the same counterparties under master netting agreements.

Effective January 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) rulebook was amended to legally characterize variation margin payments for cleared OTC derivatives as settlements of the derivative exposure rather than collateral against the derivative exposure. The economic cash flows exchanged do not change and therefore hedge accounting is unchanged; however, the variation margin and derivative instrument are considered a single unit of account for accounting and presentation purposes. As settlements, variation margin receipts and payments are considered cash flows of the derivative and reduce the recognized asset or liability arising from the derivative’s mark-to-market for balance sheet presentation, effectively resulting in the derivative having a fair value that approximates zero. As of December 31, 2016, our consolidated statements of financial position included $528.0 million in other investments and $527.7 million in other liabilities related to OTC interest rate contracts cleared with the CME. The balance of those line items was reduced by those amounts in January 2017 as a result of the CME rulebook amendment. The rulebook amendment did not have an impact on net income. Additionally, the change by the CME did not impact the accounting for our OTC derivatives not cleared with the CME.

Separate Accounts

The separate accounts are legally segregated and are not subject to the claims that arise out of any of our other business. The client, rather than us, directs the investments and bears the investment risk of these funds. The separate account assets represent the fair value of funds that are separately administered by us for contracts with equity, real estate and fixed income investments and are presented as a summary total within the consolidated statements of financial position. An equivalent amount is reported as separate account liabilities, which represent the obligation to return the monies to the client. We receive fees for mortality, withdrawal and expense risks, as well as administrative, maintenance and investment advisory services that are included in the consolidated statements of operations. Net deposits, net investment income and realized and unrealized capital gains and losses of the separate accounts are not reflected in the consolidated statements of operations.

Separate account assets and separate account liabilities include certain international retirement accumulation products where the segregated funds and associated obligation to the client are consolidated within our financial statements. We have determined that summary totals are the most meaningful presentation for these funds.

As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the separate accounts included a separate account valued at $162.9 million and $158.4 million, respectively, which primarily included shares of our stock that were allocated and issued to eligible participants of qualified employee benefit plans administered by us as part of the policy credits issued under our 2001 demutualization. These shares are included in both basic and diluted earnings per share calculations. In the consolidated statements of financial position, the separate account shares are recorded at fair value and are reported as separate account assets with a corresponding separate account liability to eligible participants of the qualified plan. Changes in fair value of the separate account shares are reflected in both the separate account assets and separate account liabilities and do not impact our results of operations.