Postretirement benefits are provided for part of the annual expense of health insurance premiums for certain retired employees and their dependents. No contributions are made by the Company to invest in assets allocated for the purpose of funding this benefit obligation.

The liability for the postretirement benefits included in accrued expenses and other liabilities was $4.8 million, $1.2 million, and $1.6 million as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in 2025 was a direct result of additional plans assumed through the Transaction.

The discount rate used to determine the actuarial present value of projected postretirement benefit obligations was between 5.44% and 5.51% in 2025, 5.51% in 2024 and 4.82% in 2023. There is no estimated prior service credit that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic benefit cost in 2026.

As a result of the Transaction, the Company participates in the Pentegra Defined Benefit Plan for Financial Institutions (the “DB Plan”), a tax-qualified defined benefit pension plan. The DB Plan operates as a multiple-employer plan under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, and as a multi-employer plan for accounting purposes. The DB Plan was frozen prior to the Transaction. There are no collective bargaining agreements in place that require contributions to the DB Plan by the Company. The DB Plan is a single plan under the Internal Revenue Code and, as a result, all of the assets stand behind all of the liabilities. Accordingly, contributions made by a participating employer may be used to provide benefits to participants of other participating employers.

The Company administers one 401(k) plan, which is a qualified, tax-exempt profit-sharing plan with a salary deferral feature under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Each employee, excluding temporary employees, who has attained the age of 21 is eligible to participate in the 401(k) plan by making voluntary contributions, subject to certain limits based on federal tax laws. The Company makes a matching contribution of the amount contributed by eligible employees, up to 5% of the employee's yearly compensation. Expenses associated with the plans were $5.3 million in 2025, $5.0 million in 2024, and $4.6 million in 2023.

The Company also maintains a Nonqualified Plan under which certain participants may contribute the amounts they are precluded from contributing to the Company's 401(k) plan because of the qualified plan limitations, and additional compensation deferrals that may be advantageous for personal income tax or other planning reasons. Expenses associated with the Nonqualified Plan in 2025, 2024 and 2023 were $0.6 million, $0.7 million, and $0.6 million, respectively. Accrued deferred compensation as of the year ended 2025, 2024, and 2023 were $10.0 million, $9.2 million, and $9.8 million, respectively.

The Company acquired two SERPs as part of its acquisition of BankRI. The Company maintains the SERPs for certain senior executives who are entitled to an annual retirement benefit. As of December 31, 2025, there were 14 participants in the SERPs. The Company funded a Rabbi Trust to provide a partial funding source for the Company's liabilities under the SERPs. In 2016, a portion of the Company's BOLI assets were transferred into the Rabbi Trust as a replacement for the funds previously held in the Rabbi Trust. In 2020, additional BOLI assets were transferred into the Rabbi Trust. The Company records the liability for the SERPs based on an actuarial calculation in accordance with GAAP, and no actuarial gains and losses are recognized.

Total expense under the SERPs for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $818 thousand compared to an expense in 2024 of $93 thousand and a benefit in 2023 of $0.6 million. Aggregate benefits payable included in accrued expenses and other liabilities as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 were $10.3 million and $10.3 million, respectively.

The nominal discount rate used to determine the actuarial present value of projected benefits under the agreements was 5.50% and 5.50% in the years 2025 and 2024, respectively.

As part of the acquisition of PCSB, the Company acquired a pension plan covering certain employees (the "PCSB Pension Plan"). The PCSB Pension Plan has been terminated and the Company has received authorization to complete the termination by the Internal Revenue Service. The plan has been closed and assets liquidated. During the years ended December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the PCSB Pension Plan had unrealized losses of $1.4 million, due to the reversal of unrealized gains at closure and unrealized gains of $0.5 million, respectively, reflected in other comprehensive income. No contributions were made to the PCSB Pension Plan in 2025 or 2024.

The Company maintains a legacy, employer-sponsored defined benefit pension plan (the “ Rome Pension Plan”) for which participation and benefit accruals were frozen on January 1, 2003. The Rome Pension Plan was assumed in connection with the Transaction. Accordingly, no employees are permitted to commence participation in the Rome Pension Plan and future salary increases and years of credited service are not considered when computing an employee’s benefits under the Rome Pension Plan. As of December 31, 2025, all minimum Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) funding requirements have been met.

As of December 31, 2025, the Company had one active equity plan: the 2025 Plan. The 2025 Plan was approved by the Company's stockholders at the May 2025 special meeting of stockholders of the Company, subject to and contingent upon the Transaction being consummated. The 2021 Plan was discontinued on August 31, 2025 in connection with the Transaction. No further shares will be granted as awards under the 2021 Plan and all previously outstanding and unvested awards under the 2021 Plan vested as a result of the Transaction.

All of the shares that have been awarded under the 2025 Plan are time-based shares awarded to employees that vest ratably over two years with one-half of such shares vesting on the first and second anniversary dates of the awards.

If a participant leaves the Company prior to the anniversary date of an award, any unvested shares are forfeited. Dividends declared with respect to shares awarded will be held by the Company and paid to the participant only when the shares vest.

Under the 2025 Plan, shares of the Company's common stock are reserved for issuance as restricted stock awards to officers, employees, and non-employee directors of the Company. Shares issued upon vesting may be either authorized but unissued shares or reacquired shares held by the Company as treasury shares. Any shares not issued because vesting requirements are not met will be retired back to treasury and be made available again for issuance under the 2025 Plan.

Total expense for the Plans was $3.5 million in 2025, $3.9 million in 2024 and $4.1 million in 2023. In 2025 an additional $2.7 million of expense was incurred on the 2021 Plan to account for the accelerated vesting of shares as a result of the Transaction. This expense was recorded as part of merger and restructuring expense.

The following table presents information about the Company's restricted stock awards as of and for the year ending December 31, 2025:


	Restricted Stock Awards Outstanding	Weighted Average Price per Share
	(Dollars in Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
Restricted Stock Awards:








Outstanding at December 31, 2024	880,248	$	10.79
Granted	218,503	25.26
Vested	(862,166)	10.79
Forfeited / Canceled	(21,779)	13.12

Outstanding at December 31, 2025	214,806	$	25.26
Unrecognized compensation cost				$	4,216
Weighted average remaining recognition period (months)				15 months


	Number of Securities to Be Issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants, and rights (a)	Weighted Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Right (b)		Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance (Excluding Securities in Column (a)) (c)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders (1)	—	$	—	3,085,194	(2)
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders	—	—		—
Total	—	$	—	3,085,194

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