Company: SOJE
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000092122-25-000036
Chunk: 127

Company: SOUTHERN CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-11
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 127
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 and other goals specific to each business unit or operating company. A threshold, target and maximum payout is set for each participant.

PPP payouts usually occur in March in the year following the applicable performance year. See page

# for additional information about the PPP, the goals applicable to the NEOs and the 2024 payouts. The PPP is a component program of the 2021 Omnibus Plan.
LTI Program . The use of shares of common stock as a component of our compensation program directly links compensation with long-term shareholder value creation and reward participants based on their continued service and/or performance. The following types of awards may be granted under the Omnibus Plan, as designated by the Compensation Committee: stock options, stock appreciation rights (SARs), restricted stock, RSUs, PSUs, PSUs and cash-based awards. The Company currently has outstanding awards of RSUs and PSUs, which are described below.

#### Southern Company2025 Proxy Statement103

#### Appendix B - Benefit Plan Summary
RSUs . RSUs provide an employee the opportunity to earn common stock, cash, or a combination thereof upon the achievement of predetermined performance- or time-based metrics. The Company’s current compensation programs include RSUs as part of the annual LTI awards to eligible employees.

PSUs . PSUs provide an employee the opportunity to earn common stock if predetermined performance metrics are met for a predetermined performance period. The Company’s current compensation programs include PSUs as part of the annual LTI awards to eligible employees.

#### Other Plans
Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) . The DCP is an unfunded plan that permits participants to defer income as well as certain federal, state and local taxes until a specified date or their retirement, disability, death or other separation from service. Up to 50% of base salary and up to 100% of performance-based non-equity compensation may be deferred at the election of eligible employees.

Under the DCP, participants make an annual election to choose how much compensation to defer, when those deferrals will be paid and how distributions will be paid (in one to ten annual installments).

DCP participants have five notional investment options: the stock equivalent account, the prime equivalent account and three equivalent index fund accounts. Under the terms of the DCP, participants are permitted to transfer between investments at any time.

| DCP Notional Investment        
 Account Options                |     | Summary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |     | 2024 Rate 
 of Return |       |   |
| Stock Equivalent Account       |     |