Do you know what it really means to be an ESOP?

Yes. To avoid IRS penalties, withdrawing funds from your ESOP should not start before age 59 1/2.

You can view your account balance and information at any time through the Principal app. However, please keep in mind that the information is only updated once each year in May.

Expect your first statement within 1.5 years from your hire date.

A vesting schedule is the time requirement that must be met before you have access to 100% of your account balance. Whitaker Holdings follows a seven year vesting schedule. Anything before seven years and you are only partially vested with access to a percentage of your account balance.

Starting at age 55, participants that have at least 10 years in the ESOP may roll over up to 25% during the next 5 years. At age 60, they may withdraw an additional 25%, for combined total of 50%.

Regardless of age or years of experience, we rely on each other. We all need to be committed to helping the next generation of employee-owners be ready to continue building the company if we want to see the ESOP hit its full potential. We believe in the ESOP model. It attracts owners! We will be better prepared to compete than other companies.

Fluctuations are inherent in our business and are accounted for in our valuation process. If we were to experience consecutive years of losses, our share value would probably stop growing and may even decline slightly. We would continue to contribute to the ESOP and pay down debt. Balances would grow more slowly for a period until profitability returned. It's important to keep a long-term mentality. Though we may experience some years that don't perform as well as others, the outlook of our ESOP over the life of your career is very positive.

We're not currently a publicly traded company. It costs $500,000 to $1,000,000 a year to do the additional accounting and administration required by the SEC of public companies. The benefits do not currently outweigh the costs.

After employment separation, in July of the following year, Principal Financial will reach out to discuss distribution options. Option #1: Cash out your funds Option #2: Roll funds into 401(k), IRA, or other approved retirement accounts

Cash in the ESOP refers to your portion of the available cash within the Employee Stock Ownership Plan. This is not cash that can be accessed by you, rather, it represents the cash that is used to purchase stocks as a part of the ESOP's investment activity throughout the year.

There are several factors that play into share value growth. Most of the share value is determined by our expected future Profitability. Consistent reception of Tier 5 incentives indicate that we are being profitable. For the share value to grow we need to be profitable and growing. There are also external factors that impact our share growth. The valuation done every year is a 150-page book evaluating all the different factors that impact our businesses value. Consistent Tier 5 incentives are a good indication that our share value is growing but there is no direct tie between the incentive and our share value.

All ESOP beneficiary forms are stored by Whitaker's admin. For inquiries, please contact Tammy Ward at tammy.ward@whitcon.com.

You must first download the app from the Apple App Store or the Android Play Store. Once the app is on your device, follow the instructions in this attachment.

There are several factors at play here. We recommend talking this over with with your supervisor if you need more details. In essence, if your absence from the company is less than 5 years, you may re-enter the ESOP with no waiting period if the distributed funds are put back into your ESOP account in full. You will miss out on the growth that happens while you were away, though. If you're gone more than 5 years, you will be treated as a new entrant into the ESOP and will be auto-enrolled after you've worked 4 months. Auto-enrollment happens every January and July.

Your years of service and position within the company determine the shares you are allocated. Cash is allocated based on a percentage of compensation. Shares are then allocated as cash is used for loan payments or share buybacks. We rebalance annually to ensure fair distribution.

Yes, both promotion and tenure increase the shares allocated. Those with more responsibility and longer tenure accumulate larger balances.

If you transfer it to another retirement account, such as the Whitaker 401(k), you can avoid immediate taxation. The full value of your ESOP account will be taxed as you withdraw it.

It is 6-year graded schedule. See the following schedule: Year 1: 0% Year 2: 20% Year 3: 40% Year 4: 60% Year 5: 80% Year 6: 100%

Upon employment separation, participants can make an election in July of the following year. Options include a distribution, rollover to an approved retirement account, etc. If no selection is made, the funds will automatically transfer to the participant's 401(k) account.

No. As long as you are an active employee-owner, you are eligible for the ESOP plan.

You can if you are at least 55 years old and have 10 years in the ESOP. This is called diversification. It lets you move a portion of your ESOP out of Whitaker stock. You can do this for up to 25 percent each year for five years, and then up to 50 percent in year six

If you retire at age 59 ½ or older, you can access your ESOP money without early withdrawal penalties. Distribution elections occur in July of the year after you leave the Company. You will be able to choose how to receive the money, such as cash or a rollover to a 401(k) or IRA.

It’s based on your eligible pay for the year. The company adds up all eligible pay from everyone in the Plan and prorates the contribution among all eligible employee-owners. Example: If your eligible pay is $60,000, and the total eligible pay for everyone in the Plan is $35 million, and the company contributes $5 million, your share would be about $8,571 for the year. $60,000 ÷ $35,000,000 × $5,000,000 = $8,571

2025 we made contributions of $11M, which is about 14% of payroll. Multiply your W2 earnings by 14 and that is roughly what your share of the contribution will be. Share growth won't be as dramatic as last year. The percentage growth will go down. As the size of our company gets bigger the same dollar value of growth becomes a smaller percentage. The dollar value increase will be in the same ballpark, but not quite as high as last year.

Yes, all acquired company employees start off as new participants in the ESOP with zero balances. We do give credit for prior service for vesting. This does not increase the amount they get in their accounts.

Companies perform stock splits to make it easier for people to buy whole shares. In the ESOP we allocated shares to the sixth decimal place. I like the simplicity of calculations allowed by not having split the stock while we are an ESOP. I am not aware of any benefits to the company or participants from a stock split. It’s doubtful we will split the stock.

We expect to have the statements out by the middle of May each year.

Voya has the 401(k) and ESOP websites updated and live. The ESOP website will be with One America until approximately April of this year when Voya finishes the integration of the two platforms. After that 401(k) and ESOP will be hosted on the same website.

You are eligible to enter the ESOP after you have worked for four months. After four months, you will be entered into the ESOP on either January 1st or July 1st, whichever occurs first.

If you leave the company before working for seven years, you are entitled to a portion of your ESOP balance. After becoming fully vested, 100% of your balance is yours. Please contact the ESOP Committee Chair or a member of the senior financial executive team for more information.

When you take your money out of your ESOP account, it will be taxed. As with any retirement savings, taking it out in large quantities or a lump sum will result in more taxes owed. We encourage you to work with your tax counsel so that you are informed about taxes and retirement savings. Whitaker Construction does not pay taxes as a company. This is a major benefit of being a 100% ESOP company. Instead, all of that money that would normally go to the IRS goes into the ESOP.

No. IRS regulations require each participant to maintain a separate account, so accounts cannot be combined.

Your ESOP account belongs to you. If you pass away, the balance is paid to the beneficiary you have designated. If you have not named a beneficiary, the Plan follows a specific order of payment outlined in the ESOP Plan. To ensure your benefits go where you intend, keep your beneficiary designation up to date through Voya. (online)

It is our intention that the ESOP work for everyone, including those that aren’t close to retirement. The most impactful piece of the ESOP is company share value. We are investing the cash being made today to spread our risk. We are investing in Real Estate, Bonds, and other businesses. These investments should insulate us from the construction industry volatility. Our share price isn’t speculative like some companies’. Our share price is backed with hard assets of Equipment, Real Estate, and Cash. A lot of the stocks in the stock market change price for seemingly no reason. Our share price will be more stable. We also contribute cash to the ESOP every year and pay down ESOP debt, which helps participant balances to grow even if the company isn’t.

Federal taxes may apply to ESOP distributions depending on your individual tax situation and how you choose to receive the funds. The 2026 federal tax brackets below provide a general estimate of tax rates. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult a qualified tax professional.