Where traditional individual disability income insurance helps cover personal living expenses during a disability, the new Principal program provides an additional layer of protection, the company said in a news release. Upon disability, the program pays disability income benefits to an irrevocable trust, which in turn invests the funds as directed by the insured. At the end of the benefit period, trust assets can be distributed to the client, per the trust agreement, the company said.  

Principal said the new product could help keep people from being forced to raid their pensions to pay short-term bills.

“Ailments that used to kill now disable. In the last twenty years, deaths due to cancer, heart attack and stroke have gone down significantly, but disabilities due to those same three are up dramatically,” Deana Strable, vice president of the Specialty Benefit Division of the Principal Financial Group, said in the news release. “Our most valuable asset is our income, including the income we depend on for our retirement years. The Principal DI Retirement Security program helps provide peace-of-mind that in the event a disability does occur, the financial security we’ve worked so hard to create is protected.”

Individuals interested in learning more about the Principal DI Retirement Security program should contact their local Principal Financial Group representative. Marketers interested in learning more should contact the company’s National Sales Desk at 800-654-4278, option 2, 2, 1.