eBenefits edge

Save Time. Save Money.Simplify your

Benefit administration.

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Created for benefit administrators by benefit administrators

eBenefits Edge was created by specialists who know first-

hand the challenges human resources professionals face,

including:

• Multipleenrollmententrieswithdifferentbenefitcarriers

• Pooraccesstodataduetomultiplecarriersites

• Ineffectiveemployeebenefitscommunication

• Costlymailinganddistributionofbenefitsinformation

• Severalpasswordstomanage

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your benefits program solutionIf on-demand, convenient access to all benefits information in a single location would assist your human

resources team and employees, then Principal Life Insurance Company can help.

Principal Life offers an easy, cost-effective solution — eBenefits EdgeSM. This online benefit administration

service solves many challenges — saving you both time and money.

eBenefits Edge consolidates your employee benefits information into a single uncomplicated system.

That means your team has single-entry access to enrollment, employee data changes and reporting,

whether you have two, three or even more providers. And that’s good for both you and your

employees.

daily benefits management

Repetitive and time-consuming benefit administration tasks can decrease productivity and distract your

team from focusing on priorities. eBenefits Edge integrates with your existing environment to reduce or

eliminate manual data entry, faxing, mailing and paperwork involved in the day-to-day management

of benefit-related activities. Because it is Web-based, employees or human resources (HR) specialists can

access it wherever an Internet connection is available — at work, at home or on the road.

Online administration through eBenefits Edge:

•Providesfullaccesstobenefitsdataincluding:reports,eventapproval,trackingtoolsandemployeedata

•Offersemployees24/7accessforenrollment,personalupdatesandqualifiedlifeeventchanges—in

addition to benefits communication and updates

•Integrateswithvirtuallyallexistingcarriersandpayrollsystems

•Sendselectronicweeklyupdatestocarriersandpayrolltohelpreduce,oreveneliminate,dataentryand

improve data accuracy

•StreamlinesthetrackingandprocessingofEvidenceofInsurabilityandGuaranteedIssuerequirements

The average cost for an HR department to manually enroll one employee in benefits

is $109.48 compared to $21.79 using an automated system, according to CFO IT

on CFO.com, Summer 2003.

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advantages of eBenefits edgeeBenefits Edge customers receive a system designed specifically for their needs, as well as service and

support before, during and after implementation.

Superior savings

What does eBenefits Edge mean to the bottom line? Savings. You save both time and money

multiple ways:

•Lesstimespententeringbenefitsinformation

•Lesstimespentfaxing,mailingandcalling

•Fewerforms,documentsandletterssent

•Lesstimespentpreparing,distributingandcollectingpaperforenrollment

Add these together and you get hard dollar savings on supplies, postage and printing. Plus, you’ll realize

soft dollar savings as your HR staff finds time to work on new programs, employee education and project

work. In fact, an online enrollment system may reduce benefit administration costs for each employee.

Superior pricing

eBenefits Edge is competitively priced for new or existing clients:

•It’sexclusivelyavailableforcustomerswithPrincipalLifeproducts.

•RatesarebasedonthenumberofPrincipalLifeproductsyouhaveandthenumberofbenefiteligible

lives covered.

•Themoreproductsyouhavewithus,thebetterrateyoureceive.

•Theup-frontfeeislowerthanmanysimilarservices.

Superior reporting capabilities

You can customize reports for your specific needs or run a standard report:

•Censusreports–Employeehistory,employeecensus,dependentcensus,newhires,terminationsand

dependent over-age

•Billingreports–Summarydeductionsbyemployeeandsummarydeductionsbyoption

•Administrativereports–EvidenceofInsurability(EOI)andlifeevent

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Notifies insurance carriers/third-party administrators via a weekly electronic feed

Benefit Specialistupdates and manages:

•Benefitsdata•Systemdata•Employeedata•Reporting/billing•Communications•Newhires/terminations•Transfers•Deductions

Employeesaccess and update information online:

•Enrollment •Beneficiarychanges •Communications•Addresschanges

Health

Dental

Vision

Flex

Life

Disability

How eBenefits edge worksHaving online access to benefits information is an advantage for both benefit specialists and

employees. eBenefits Edge serves as a connection between employees and benefit specialists.

This online service also regularly provides insurance carriers, third-party administrators and

payroll services with the most current information.

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Payroll

eBenefits Edge

Consolidated online benefits

service

Notifies payroll services about deductions, address changes, new hires/terminations and transfers via weekly electronic feed

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employer benefits

Withaneasylearningcurve,yourhumanresourcesteamwillquicklyadapttothemanyadvantagesof

using eBenefits Edge. Even after implementation, you receive the same high level of service and support

by the team that created your system.

Your human resources team can easily access the administrator database.

Using eBenefits Edge, benefit administrators have a comprehensive management tool to meet your

company’s needs. Your benefit records are kept up-to-date using the latest technology. Carriers, payroll

vendors and third-party administrators receive eFile updates weekly.

The Administration tools allow you to:

•Viewandupdateyouremployees’currentbenefitand

demographic information

•Approve,pend,ordeclineLife Event elections made by

your employees

•Makebenefitelectionsonbehalfofyouremployees

through Administrator eElect and keep track of who

made the changes

The Reports tools allow you to:

•Viewahistoryofalltransactionsemployeeshave

completed and compare them to previous elections in

Employee Output

•TrackthedailystatusofyouropenenrollmentinActivity

•Runcensus,billing,andadministrativereportswith

Report Wizard

Oncecreated,reportsaresavedforfutureuse.

Pre-built reports fulfill the most common reporting

requests.Becauseeachemployerhasdifferentneeds,

eBenefits Edge allows you to customize reports to satisfy

yourrequirements.

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employee benefits

Employees appreciate the convenience eBenefits Edge provides. Their benefits information is available

24/7viatheInternet,allowingthemtoupdateinformationatatimeandplaceconvenientforthem.

employee site

Employees access information, enroll

in benefits and update their benefits

information using the employee site.

New Hires – Information about new

hire forms and when to complete

benefit elections are found in this

section.

Benefit Highlights – Detailed

information about the benefit options

an employee is eligible to select is

featured.

Benefit Toolkit –FrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQs),calculators,frequentlyrequestedformsandlife

event information help employees make informed decisions.

Update Info/Enroll – A strong rules-based enrollment tool allows employees to:

•Enrollinandchangebenefitsforannualenrollment,lifeeventsandnewhires

•Changepersonalinformationsuchasaddressesandemergencycontacts

•Updatedependentandspouseinformation

•Updatebeneficiaryinformation

Summary and confirmation statement

Each employee sees only the benefit options

and rates he/she is eligible to select. At the

conclusion of enrollment, the employee

receives a complete benefit summary and a

confirmation statement.

A

B

B

C

D

CA

D

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The savings can add upexamples of the type of savings a company may experience

Example One

Company with 150 employees

COST SAVINGS: Over $30,000

TIME SAVINGS: Almost 1,800 hours

A company this size, with one benefit administrator and six benefit programs (medical, dental, vision,

life, disability and flexible spending account), can anticipate many annual changes:

•10%turnover(15terminations,15newhires)=30changes

•7%qualifiedlifechanges=10changes

•Annualopenenrollment=150changes

•20%addresschanges=30changes

Totalannualestimatedchangesfor150employees=220.Sendingthosechangestoallcarriersand

updating your payroll could result in as many as 1,540 separate transactions.

* Based on one benefit specialist at $16/hr; average employee salary at $15/hr; 150 lives

Activity Potential Annual Savings*

Money Time

Administration

•Dailybenefits $3,600 225 hrs

•Newhiresandterminations $2,880 180 hrs

•Openenrollment $2,656 166 hrs

Employee productivity (8 hrs per employee per year) $18,000 1,200 hrs

Printing and distribution ($2.50 per employee per month) $4,500

TOTAL $31,636 1,771 hrs

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Example Two

Company with 600 employees

COST SAVINGS: Over $100,000

TIME SAVINGS: Almost 6,000 hours

A company this size, with two benefit administrators and six benefit programs (medical, dental, vision,

life, disability and flexible spending account), can anticipate many annual changes:

•10%turnover(60terminations,60newhires)=120changes

•7%qualifiedlifechanges=42changes

•Annualopenenrollment=600changes

•20%addresschanges=120changes

Totalannualestimatedchangesfor600employees=882.Sendingthosechangestoallcarriersand

updatingyourpayrollcouldresultinasmanyas6,174separatetransactions.

* Based on two benefits specialists at $16/hr; average employee salary at $15/hr; 150 lives

Activity Potential Annual Savings*

Money Time

Administration

•Dailybenefits $7,200 450 hrs

•Newhiresandterminations $5,760 360 hrs

•Openenrollment $5,312 332 hrs

Employee productivity (8 hrs per employee per year) $72,000 4,800 hrs

Printing and distribution ($2.50 per employee per month) $18,000

TOTAL $108,272 5,942 hrs

* Based on two benefit specialist at $16/hr; average employee salary at $15/hr; 600 lives

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it’s easy to get startedimplementation

The focus of the eBenefits Edge team is to ensure a smooth and successful implementation. Working

closely with you, we’ll:

•Gatherrequirements

•Design,buildandtestthesystemandelectroniclinks

•Trainandcommunicatewiththeusers

implementation checklist

Ourchecklistprovidesdetailedinstructionsregardingyourimplementationprocess.Requested

information may include:

•Employeehandbook

•SummaryPlanDescriptionsforallproductbenefits

•Password-protectedemployeecensusfrompayrollfile

•Listofcompanypaydatesforeachpaygroup

•Deductionreportshowingemployeesandtheiractualdeductions

•Signedcarrier/third-partyadministratorbenefitauthorizationform

Afterreceivingtherequesteddata,we’lldiscusstheimplementationtimelineanddeadlineswithyou,as

well as project roles and responsibilities.

Example: Five-week implementation timeline

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53DAYS

Project begins

Begin system build

Go live

Requirements defined and signed off

Finalize system

messaging

Begin carrier/payroll file

builds

Employee site

complete

System testing

complete

Data scrubbed

and loaded

All carrier census data

received

Administrator training and

process discussion

Data testing complete and final sign-off

Electronic file transmission

beginsReport training

Implementation timelines vary by complexity and integrity of data necessary for loading the system.

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Service and supportWhen you work with the eBenefits Edge team, you receive our experience in HR, benefits and related

technology.

Ourongoingsupportteamassistsyouwith:

•Dailybenefitsprocessing

•Weeklyfiletransfermanagement

•Reportingandretraining

•Annualoropenenrollmentimplementation

•Systemupgraderesponses

Afterimplementation,youreceivethesamehigh-qualityserviceandsupport.We’recommittedto

working closely with you to help achieve your goals.

Let Principal Life and the eBenefits Edge team help simplify your

administrative tasks to save you both time and money.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact your local Principal Life sales representative.

we’ll give you an edge®

Principal Life Insurance Company, Des Moines, Iowa 50392-0001, www.principal.com

GP 56240-1 | 06/2009 | ©2009 Principal Financial Services, Inc.