Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000712534-25-000058
Chunk: 98

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 8
Chunk 98
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 Savings Plan, a Section 401(k) qualified defined contribution plan, was amended on March 1, 2005 to provide enhanced retirement benefits, including employer and matching contributions, for eligible employees of the Corporation and its subsidiaries.  The Corporation matches employees’ contributions at the rate of 100 percent for the first 3 percent of base salary contributed by participants and 50 percent of the next 3 percent of base salary contributed by participants.Beginning in 2005, employees who have completed 1000 hours of service and are an active employee on the last day of the year receive an additional retirement contribution after year-end.  Employees hired after January 1, 2010 do not participate in the additional retirement contribution.  Effective January 1, 2013, the additional retirement contribution was fixed at 2 percent.  Full vesting occurs after five years of service.  The Corporation’s expense for the Savings Plan, including the additional retirement contribution, was $7.0 million, $7.2 million and $6.5 million for 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.The Corporation also maintains a post retirement benefit plan that provides health insurance benefits for a closed group of participants that came to the Corporation through the 2019 MBT acquisition.  To be eligible for the post retirement plan, the participants must (1) have been hired by MBT prior to January 1, 2007, (2) be a full-time employee of the Corporation and employed by MBT prior to the acquisition, and (3) be at least 55 years of age with 5 years of full-time service with MBT.  The plan allowed retirees to be carried under the Corporation’s health insurance plan, generally from ages 55 to 65.  The retirees’ premiums are determined based on their retiree class (per historical MBT guidelines) and also determined by the plan type for which the retiree is enrolled.  As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the obligation payable under the post retirement plan was $0.3 million and $2.3 million, respectively.  Post retirement plan expense totaled $32,000, $44,000 and $53,000 for 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

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PART II: ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATANOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS(table dollar amounts in thousands, except share data)

Pension