Our named executive officers participate in the Sempra Energy Cash Balance Plan and, with the exception of Mr. Folkmann, a Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan. Mr. Folkmann participates in the Cash Balance Restoration Plan, which restores the benefits that would otherwise be provided under the Cash Balance Plan but for Internal Revenue Service limits applicable totax-qualified pension plans.
What is the Cash Balance Plan?
The Cash Balance Plan is atax-qualified pension plan available to virtually all U.S.-based employees of Sempra Energy and its subsidiaries.
Why does the company offer a supplemental retirement plan?
Our Board of Directors and the Compensation Committee of the Sempra Energy Board of Directors believe that retirement, savings and deferred compensation plans, in general, and the Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan in particular, are important elements of an overall compensation package. This package is designed to recruit and retain executive talent, especiallymid-career executives, and to retain longer-term executive participants.
How are benefits calculated?
The Sempra Energy Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan, or SERP, provides executive officers with retirement benefits based on the executive’s:
| • | | actual years of service |
SERP benefits are reduced by benefits payable under the broad-based Cash Balance Plan.
The Cash Balance Plan, Cash Balance Restoration Plan and the SERP use only base salary and annual incentive bonuses in calculating benefits. The value of long-term incentive awards is not included.
3. | 401(k) Savings and Deferred Compensation Plans |
Our named executive officers, together with most other company employees, participate in a broad-based,tax-qualified 401(k) Savings Plan. Officers and other key management employees may also participate in a deferred compensation plan.
What is the 401(k) Savings Plan?
Employees may contribute a portion of their pay to atax-qualified 401(k) savings plan. Contributions to the plan may be invested on atax-deferred orafter-tax basis.
The company matchesone-half of the first 6 percent of the employee’s contributions. In addition, employees receive a “stretch match” equal toone-fifth of the next 5 percent of the employee’s contributions. The Internal Revenue Code limits the amount of compensation eligible for deferral undertax-qualified plans.
All employee contributions and investment earnings in the 401(k) Savings Plan vest immediately. Employees are eligible to participate in the plan and receive company matching contributions upon hire. Company matching contributions vest after one year of service.
What is the deferred compensation plan?
Our executive officers and other key management employees also may defer up to 85 percent of their base salary and bonus under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan, the Employee and Director Savings Plan. Executive officers also may defer all or a portion of certain performance-based restricted stock unit awards upon vesting. Participants can direct these deferrals into:
| • | | Funds that mirror the investments available under the 401(k) savings plan, including a Sempra Energy phantom stock account. |
4 | Final average pay is the average base salary for the two consecutive years of highest base salary prior to retirement plus the average of the three highest annual bonuses during the 10 years prior to retirement. |
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