Note 8: Employee Benefit Plans

401(k) Plan

The Company has a Retirement Accumulation Plan qualifying under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k), in which NBB and NBFS are participating employers. Eligible participants may contribute up to 100% of their total annual compensation to the plan, subject to certain limits based on federal tax laws. Employee contributions are matched by the employer based on a percentage of an employee’s total annual compensation contributed to the plan. For the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company contributed $536 and $476, respectively, included in salaries and employee benefits expense in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

The Company has a non-leveraged Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) which enables employees of NBI and its subsidiaries who have one year of service and who have attained the age of 21 prior to the plan’s January 1 and July 1 enrollment dates to own NBI common stock. Contributions to the ESOP, which are not mandatory, are determined annually by the NBI Board of Directors. Contribution expense amounted to $350 for the year ended December 31, 2025 and $300 for the year ended December 31, 2024. Dividends on ESOP shares are charged to retained earnings. As of December 31, 2025, the number of shares held by the ESOP was 188,921. All shares held by the ESOP are treated as outstanding in computing the Company’s basic net income per share. Upon reaching age 55 with 10 years of plan participation, a vested participant has the right to diversify 50% of his or her allocated ESOP shares, and NBI or the ESOP, with the agreement of the trustee, is obligated to purchase those shares.

Salary Continuation Plan

The Company has a non-qualified Salary Continuation Plan for certain key officers. The plan provides the participating officers with supplemental retirement income, payable for the greater of 15 years after retirement or the officer’s lifetime. The associated liability, included in other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, was $3,480 as of December 31, 2025 and $3,445 as of December 31, 2024. The expense accrued for the plans in 2025 and 2024, based on the present value of the retirement benefits, amounted to $320 and $358, respectively, included in salaries and employee benefits expense on the Consolidated Statements of Income. The plan is unfunded. However bank-owned life insurance has been acquired on the life of the key employees in amounts sufficient to discharge the obligations of the agreement.

Defined Benefit Plan

The Company's defined benefit pension plan covers substantially all employees. The plan benefit formula is based upon the length of service of retired employees and a percentage of qualified W-2 compensation during the highest-earning five years of their final ten years of employment. Information pertaining to activity in the plan during the years indicated, is as follows:

The following table presents the components of actuarial gain:

Long-Term Rate of Return

The Company, as plan sponsor, selects the expected long-term rate-of-return-on-assets assumption in consultation with its investment advisors and actuary. This rate is intended to reflect the average rate of earnings expected to be earned on the funds invested or to be invested to provide plan benefits. Historical performance is reviewed, especially with respect to real rates of return (net of inflation), for the major asset classes held or anticipated to be held by the trust, and for the trust itself. Undue weight is not given to recent experience, which may not continue over the measurement period, but higher significance is placed on current forecasts of future long-term economic conditions.

Because assets are held in a qualified trust, anticipated returns are not reduced for taxes. Further, and solely for this purpose, the plan is assumed to continue in force and not terminate during the period during which assets are invested. However, consideration is given to the potential impact of current and future investment policy, cash flow into and out of the trust, and expenses (both investment and non-investment) typically paid from plan assets (to the extent such expenses are not explicitly estimated within periodic cost).

The Company’s Pension Administrative Committee Policy (the “Policy”) sets requirements for monitoring the investment management of its qualified plans. The Policy includes a statement of general investment principles and a listing of specific investment guidelines, to which the committee may make documented exceptions. The guidelines state that, unless otherwise indicated, all investments that are permitted under the prudent investor rule shall be permissible investments for the defined benefit pension plan. All plan assets are to be invested in marketable securities. Certain investments are prohibited, including commodities and future contracts, private placements, repurchase agreements, options and derivatives. The Policy establishes quality standards for fixed income investments and mutual funds included in the pension plan trust. The Policy also outlines diversification standards.

The preferred target allocation for the assets of the defined benefit pension plan is 65% in equity securities and 35% in fixed income securities. Equity securities include investments in large-cap and mid-cap companies primarily located in the United States, although a small number of international large-cap companies are included. There are also investments in mutual funds holding the equities of large-cap and mid-cap U.S. companies. Fixed income securities include U.S. government agency securities and corporate bonds from companies representing diversified industries. There are no investments in hedge funds, private equity funds or real estate. The Company’s required minimum pension contribution for 2026 has not yet been determined. Fair value measurements of the pension plan’s assets as of the dates indicated are presented below:

Estimated future benefit payments, which reflect expected future service, as appropriate, as of December 31, 2025 are as follows: