Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000712534-25-000077
Chunk: 55

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 55
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 is a participant in the Pension Plan, but his benefits were frozen, effective March 1, 2005, because he had not yet attained age 55 and accrued 10 years of credited service as of that date. His years of credited service under the plan are one fewer than his number of actual years of service with the Company when the Plan was frozen. Mr. Hardwick is not currently eligible for normal or early retirement under the Pension Plan.

(2) The assumptions used in calculating the present value of accumulated benefits are discussed in Note 18 to FMC’s 2024 audited financial statements, on pages 100-103 of FMC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The Pension Plan is a tax-qualified Code §401(a) defined benefit pension plan. The benefits payable upon retirement at age 65 to employees participating in the Pension Plan are computed as a straight-life annuity (although other forms of actuarially equivalent benefits are offered) based on the following formula: 1.6% of average final compensation (in general, the participant’s highest 60 consecutive months’ W-2 compensation, less incentive pay) plus .5% of average final compensation in excess of Social Security covered compensation, both amounts times years of service to a maximum of 25 years. Benefits are integrated with Social Security but they are not subject to any deduction for Social Security or other offset amounts. The benefits payable under the Pension Plan at age 65 to the participants whose benefits were frozen, effective March 1, 2005, are determined under the formula described above, based on their average final compensation as of that date, times a fraction, the numerator of which is the participant’s years of credited service as of March 1, 2005, and the denominator of which is the participant’s years of credited service projected to age 65.

#### NON-QUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION TABLE
The following table shows the dollar amounts of contributions, earnings, withdrawals, distributions and the aggregate balances of the NEOs’ deferred benefit accounts under the First Merchants Corporation 2011 Executive Deferred Compensation Plan ( "EDCP") as of December 31, 2024.

42 First Merchants Corporation 2025 Proxy Statement

<div align='center'>NON-QUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION IN 2024</div>

| Name                |     | Executive Contributions in Last Fiscal Year |     | Company's Contributions in Last Fiscal Year |