Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000032
Chunk: 125

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-03-31
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 125
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P-P participant who is subject to the Final Average Earnings Formula dies while active after becoming vested in the Pension Plan, the beneficiary of the deceased participant will receive the single sum value in installments as soon as possible following death. The single sum value is calculated as if the participant had survived to age 50 and discounted back to the payment date (if earlier). Spouse beneficiaries receive 100% and non-spouse beneficiaries receive 50% of the single sum value.

Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) . The SERP is an unfunded retirement plan that is not tax qualified. This plan provides highly-paid employees covered under the Final Average Earnings Formula additional benefits that the Pension Plan and the SBP-P would pay if the 1.7% offset formula calculations reflected a portion of annual performance-based compensation. The SERP was closed to new hires and future promotions effective January 1, 2016. The SERP’s early retirement, survivor benefit and disability provisions mirror the SBP-P’s provisions.

Vesting . SERP benefits do not vest until participants become eligible to retire, so no benefits are paid if a participant terminates prior to becoming retirement-eligible. The SERP benefits vest for participants who are not retirement-eligible upon a change in control.

Benefit Formula . To derive the SERP benefits, a final average pay is determined reflecting participants’ base rates of pay and their annual performance-based compensation amounts, whether or not deferred, to the extent they exceed 15% of those base rates (ignoring statutory limits). This final average pay is used in the 1.7% offset formula to derive a gross benefit. The Pension Plan and the SBP-P benefits are subtracted from the gross benefit to calculate the SERP benefit.

#### Retirement Plans – Employee Savings Plan
Employee Savings Plan (ESP) . The ESP is a 401(k) defined contribution plan covering substantially all employees.

Supplemental Benefit Plan (SBP) . The SBP is a nonqualified deferred compensation plan where the Company can make contributions that are prohibited to be made under the ESP due to limits prescribed under the Code. Under the tax code, employer-matching contributions are prohibited under the ESP on employee contributions above stated limits and, if applicable, above legal limits set forth in the Code. The statutory limit for 2024 was $345,000. SBP contributions are treated as if invested in common stock and are payable in cash upon termination of employment in a lump sum or in up to 20 annual installments,