Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000032
Chunk: 123

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 123
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 participants attain age 65 and complete five years of participation. As of December 31, 2024, all of the NEOs were vested in their Pension Plan benefits. Participants who terminate employment after vesting can elect to have their pension benefits commence prior to age 65 provided they met the applicable early retirement age and service provisions. Early retirement Pension Plan benefits are reduced by actuarially determined factors, other than those benefits accrued under the Cash Balance Formula.

If a participant dies while actively employed and is vested in the Pension Plan as of the date of death, the participant’s beneficiary is entitled to survivor benefits. If participants become totally disabled, periods that Social Security or employer-provided disability income benefits are paid will count as service for benefit calculation purposes. The crediting of this additional service ceases at the point a disabled participant elects to (a) commence retirement payments under the Final Average Earnings Formula or (b) qualifies for unreduced benefits under the Career Average Pay Formula. Outside of this extra service crediting, the normal Pension Plan provisions apply to disabled participants.

Benefit Formula - Final Average Earnings: The description below applies to each NEO, as participants hired by the Company before January 1, 2016.

4 The plan benefit equals the greater of amounts computed using a 1.7% Offset Formula and a 1.25% Formula. The highest three years of pay out of a participant’s last 10 calendar years of service are averaged to derive a final average earnings.

• 1.7% Offset Formula : 1.7% of final average earnings (base pay only) times years of credited service less an offset related to Social Security benefits.

• 1.25% Formula : 1.25% of final average earnings (base pay plus annual performance-based compensation earned) times years of credited service.

4 Early retirement benefits become payable once plan participants have, during employment, attained age 50 and completed 10 years of credited service. Participants who retire early receive a 0.3% reduction for each month (3.6% for each year) prior to normal retirement that participants elect to have their benefit payments commence.

4 As of December 31, 2024, all of the NEOs employed on that date and covered under the Final Average Earnings Formula were retirement eligible, other than Jim Kerr.

4 For NEOs covered under the Final Average Earnings Formula, the number of years of credited service is one year less than the number of years of employment.

Payment of Benefits .