Benefits

The SouthernLifeStyle wellness program, available to all benefit-eligible employees, places a strong emphasis on fitness. The company is adding fitness centers and fitness center reimbursements to make this program a success.

Southern Company offers competitive compensation and benefits programs that both attract new employees and retain tenured employees. Programs include a comprehensive compensation package, including base salary, short- and long-term incentives, pension and savings plans, and healthcare and wellness programs.

Our pay program is designed to compensate employees at competitive levels. Base salary is the foundation of the company's compensation program and is dependent on job classification, market pay levels and individual performance. Variable pay is designed to focus employees on and reward them for achieving company, business unit, and individual goals.

We offer a wide variety of market-competitive benefit choices to employees and their families. These include healthcare and wellness programs and a comprehensive retirement program consisting of a pension and savings plan.

Southern Company provides comprehensive health insurance to employees and their families. SouthernLifeStyle is an enhanced health and wellness program, available to employees and their spouses as part of the medical plan. Some of the features of the program include:

• Lifestyle and disease management programs to assist employees and their spouses in managing their health risks or chronic health conditions. Company-paid health and lab profiles have led to numerous preventive diagnoses, some potentially life-saving.
• Work-site fitness facilities are available at various company locations.
• The SouthernLifeStyle wellness website which provides current information on various health topics health resources and wellness initiatives.

The company helps employees save for their retirement by contributing to retirement plans. Southern company offers a defined benefit pension plan designed to provide employees with a monthly retirement annuity. The amount is based in large part on an employee's earnings and length of service. Southern Company also offers a savings plan that allows employees to contribute a portion of their pay to a before-tax account, a traditional after-tax account, a Roth 401(k) account, or a combination of the three. The company currently matches 85 percent on the first 6 percent of base pay an employee contributes.

Employees at Southern Company may be called upon to serve during and after catastrophic storms. Family Services provides assistance to employees who incur significant damage to personal property as a result of a widespread disaster impacting business continuity. Employees and their families are not left alone to face lives turned upside-down by catastrophe.

Opportunities to Grow

We give our employees opportunities to learn, grow, and advance in their careers. On-the-job development provides the primary way that employees grow and develop. In 2011, 1,463 employees moved into new jobs and 263 leaders moved into a new company or function.

Southern Company also offers online resources and classroom education to develop employees. For example, Southern Company recently initiated a new online portal called Power U to educate all employees on the business and our strategic priorities.