Principal Makes Retirement Plan Onboarding Platform Relevant to Hispanics

Principal Financial Group has “transcreated” its Principal Real Start onboarding platform into Spanish to help Hispanic workers starting to save. This “transcreation,” Principal says, makes the platform culturally relevant in meaning and tone.

The firm says since introducing Principal Real Start earlier this year, the platform has been a game-changer in terms of driving positive retirement savings outcomes. Principal notes that with nearly 20% of U.S. residents identifying themselves either as Hispanic or Latino, there is a need to understand the cultural concepts of this population.

“After years of working and reworking our digital and mobile onboarding experiences, we feel like we have taken a huge leap with Real Start,” says Jerry Patterson, senior vice president, retirement and income solutions at Principal. “Adapting Real Start to meeting the unique cultural and language needs of the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population enables us to drive positive retirement outcomes even further.”

Along with translating the onboarding platform into Spanish, Principal has also developed a new website for this population, Principal Hola Futuro, which showcases retirement savings and investing education and tips on managing daily finances.

Since 2013, Principal has continued to find new ways to offer relevant financial education and experiences for Spanish-speakers. Participants can access a Spanish version of the Principal website, principal.com/es, to learn more about retirement. For those who have specific questions, a dedicated bicultural team takes calls and helps Spanish-speaking participants understand what it means to save for retirement.

Principal has found that when Hispanic workers start to participate in a company plan, they tend to embrace the concept of savings.