SSB SouthState Corporation

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20529

FORM 11-K

(Mark One)

[X] Annual Report Pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

[  ] Transition Report Pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

SouthState Bank 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

1101 1^st Street S

Winter Haven, Florida 33880

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SouthState Bank 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

Financial Statements with Supplementary Information

December 31, 2021 and 2020 and for the Year Ended December 31, 2021

And Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

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SouthState Bank 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

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Note 1 – Description of Plan (continued)

Participant accounts:

Each participant’s account is credited with the participant’s contribution, allocations of the Company’s matching contribution, and allocations of plan earnings. Each participant’s account is also charged with an allocation of administrative expenses and plan losses. Allocations are based on account balances, as defined by the Plan. The benefit to which a participant is entitled is the benefit that can be provided from the participant’s account.

Vesting:

All participant contributions and SouthState Bank matching contributions are immediately vested. Participants vest in non-elective profit sharing contributions at 10% for first and second year, 20% per year for the next four years until fully vested at six years, or upon the earlier of their death, disability or retirement at age 65 or older. An employee must complete at least 1,000 hours of service during a vesting computation period to receive credit for a year of service. The Plan measures a year of service on the basis of the 12-consecutive month period of the Plan year.

Investment Options:

Participants may direct how their pre-tax and after-tax (Roth) deferred contributions, rollover funds, employer matching contributions and employer non-elective profit-sharing contributions will be invested within various investment options selected by the Retirement Committee. All participant directed funds, except investments in SouthState Bank Unitized Stock Fund may be redirected daily (See Note 7 – Investments for additional information on the SouthState Bank Unitized Stock Fund).

Participants must wait 30 calendar days before exchanging back into SouthState Bank common stock. The 30-day clock restarts after every exchange out of the account. This does not apply to the following:

Forfeitures:

At December 31, 2021 and 2020, forfeited non-vested accounts totaled $1,623 and $4,936, respectively. Forfeitures may be used to pay administrative expenses incurred by the Plan. Any additional balances in the forfeiture account will then be applied to restore previous forfeitures of participant accounts pursuant to the plan document. The portion of the forfeiture account available after the above items are satisfied is then available to be used to offset any employer contribution. During 2021, no forfeitures were used to offset the 2021 employer contributions.

Notes Receivable from Participants:

Participants may borrow from their plan assets after one year of participation. A participant must borrow at least $1,000 with the maximum amount being the lesser of (1) $50,000 or (2) one-half of the participant’s vested account balance. Loans are payable in full upon default or termination of employment. Outstanding loans at December 31, 2021 carry interest rates ranging from 3.25% to 6.50%.

The Plan allows two loans outstanding per participant at a time. A participant also must wait until at least 30 days after the pay-off of the previous loan to obtain a new loan. The Plan does not restrict loans from any portion of the participant’s funds invested in SouthState Bank’s common stock.

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Note 1 – Description of Plan (continued)

Payment of benefits and withdrawals:

On termination of service due to death, disability, retirement, or other reasons, a participant may leave the funds in the Plan or receive a lump-sum amount equal to the value of his or her account.

A participant may also receive a hardship withdrawal upon meeting certain immediate financial need requirements as defined by the Plan. Funds derived from matching and profit sharing contributions are not available for hardship withdrawals.

The Plan allows Fidelity, at its sole discretion, to distribute a participant’s vested Aggregate Account balance without consent of the participant if the account balance is less than $5,000. Such distribution may be made in a lump sum at any time after a participant terminates employment, subject to certain provisions of the Plan.

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Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Accounting:

The financial statements of the Plan are prepared using the accrual method of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Estimates:

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and changes therein and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Accordingly, actual results could differ from those estimates.

Investment Valuation and Income Recognition:

The Plan’s investments are stated at fair value. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. See Note 8 for discussion of fair value measurements.

The Plan provides for various investment options in any combination of SouthState Corporation stock, mutual funds, common collective trust funds, or money market funds. Investment securities are exposed to various risks, such as interest rate, liquidity, market and credit risks. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities and the level of uncertainty related to changes in the value of investment securities, it is at least reasonably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will change in the near term and that such changes could materially affect participants’ account balances and the amounts reported in the statement of net assets available for benefits and the statement of changes in net assets available for benefits.

Purchases and sales of securities are recorded on a trade-date basis. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Net appreciation in the fair value of the Plan’s investments consists of the realized gains or losses on investments sold and unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments held at year end.

Payment of Benefits and Withdrawals:

Benefits and withdrawals are recorded when paid. Amounts allocated to withdrawing participants may be recorded on the Form 5500 for benefit claims that have been processed and approved for payment prior to December 31 but not yet paid as of that date.

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Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Notes Receivable from Participants:

Notes receivable from participants are measured at their unpaid principal balance plus any accrued but unpaid interest. Delinquent participant loans are reclassified as distributions based on the terms of the plan document. No allowance for credit losses has been recorded as of December 31, 2021 or 2020.

Risks and Uncertainties:

The Plan invests in various investment securities which are exposed to various risks such as interest rate, market volatility and credit risks. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities, it is at least reasonably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will occur in the near term and that such changes could materially affect participants’ account balances and the amounts reported in the Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits.

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Note 3 – Related Party Transactions

Certain plan investments are shares of SouthState Corporation common stock. The Plan held common shares of SouthState Corporation of 189,926 shares valued at $15,214,979 and 199,774 shares valued at $14,443,672 at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Dividends received from SouthState Corporation common stock totaled $371,400 for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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Note 4 – Plan Termination

The Company has the right under the Plan to discontinue its contributions at any time and to terminate the Plan subject to the provisions of ERISA. In the event of plan termination, participants would become 100 percent vested in their accounts.

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Note 5 – Tax Status

The Internal Revenue Service has determined and informed SouthState Corporation, formerly First Financial, by a letter dated March 31, 2014, that the Plan and related trust are designed in accordance with applicable sections of the IRC. The Plan has been amended since the IRS approval letter of the plan, however the plan administrator believes that the Plan is currently designed and being operated in compliance with the applicable requirements of the IRC. Therefore, the plan administrator believes that the Plan was qualified and the related trust was tax exempt as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, plan management is required to evaluate tax positions taken by the Plan and recognize a tax liability (or asset) if the Plan has taken an uncertain position that more likely than not would not be sustained upon examination by the IRS. The plan administrator has analyzed the tax positions taken by the Plan, and has concluded that as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, there are no uncertain positions taken or expected to be taken that would require recognition of a liability or disclosure in the financial statements. The Plan is subject to routine audits by taxing jurisdictions; however, there are currently no audits for any tax periods in progress.

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Note 6 – Exempt Party-In-Interest Transactions

The Plan’s administrative expenses are paid by either the Plan or the Company, as provided by the plan document. Investment related expenses are included in net appreciation of fair value of investments. Certain administrative functions are performed by employees of the Company. No such employee receives compensation from the Plan.

Certain plan investment are shares of mutual funds managed by Fidelity Management Trust Company, the trustee. Fidelity Management Trust Company is the trustee as defined by the Plan and, therefore, these transactions qualify as exempt party-in-interest transactions. Fees paid by the Plan for investment management services were included as a reduction of the return earned on each fund. Fees paid to the trustees by the Plan for administrative services were $396,304 for the year ended December 31, 2021.

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Note 7 – Investments

Plan assets are held in a trust established pursuant to an agreement between SouthState Bank and the Trustee Committee.

The Retirement Committee and Trustee direct the investment activities of the trust and have full discretionary authority for the purchase and sale of investments, subject to the participants’ permitted investment elections and certain other specified limitations.

The Trustee maintains a SouthState Corporation unitized stock fund, for the exclusive use of the Plan, to account for the Plan’s interest in SouthState Corporation common stock, plus any undistributed cash to be invested into SouthState Corporation common stock. The common stock is presented as an investment within these financial statements, due to the nature of this unitized fund. The Trustee acquires and sells the common stock through a broker-dealer.

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Note 8 – Fair Value Measurements

FASB ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and enhances disclosures about fair value measurements. FASB ASC 820 clarifies that fair value should be based on the assumptions market participants would use when pricing an asset or liability and establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the information used to develop those assumptions.

FASB ASC 820 establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Following is a description of valuation methodologies used for assets recorded at fair value on a recurring and nonrecurring basis. There have been no changes in the methodologies used at December 31, 2021 and 2020.

SouthState Corporation common stock is valued on a recurring basis at quoted market prices where available. The common stock is classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

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Note 8 – Fair Value Measurements (continued)

Mutual Funds are public investment vehicles valued using the Net Asset Value (“NAV”) provided by the administrator of the fund. The NAV is based on the value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, minus its liabilities, and then divided by the number of shares outstanding. The NAV is a quoted price in an active market and classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

Common collective trust fund holds guaranteed investment contracts (“GIC”), separate account GICs, and synthetic GICs. Traditional GICs represent deposits which guarantee a stated interest rate for the term of the contracts. The fair value of the traditional GICs is determined based on the present value of the contract’s expected cash flows, discounted by current market interest rates for like-duration and like-quality investments. Separate account GICs are portfolios of securities held in a separate account owned and managed by or on behalf of the insurance company issuing the GIC for the exclusive benefit of investors in the separate account. Synthetic GICs are portfolios of securities owned by the CCT. The fair value of a separate account GIC and a synthetic GIC is determined based on the fair value of the securities underlying each GIC. The fair value of the Plan’s interest in common collective trusts (“CCT” or “pooled funds”) is based on the NAV after adjustments to reflect all fund investments at fair value.

The table below presents the recorded amount of the Plan’s investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

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The crediting interest rate was 1.79% and the average yield was 1.05% for the year ended December 31, 2021 in comparison to a crediting interest rate of 2.09% and the average yield of 0.46% for the year ended December 31, 2020. Participants may ordinarily direct the withdrawal or transfer of all or a portion of their investment at contract value. There are no reserves against contract value for credit risk or the contract issuer or otherwise. Federated Investors will guarantee principal and accrued interest, based on crediting interest rates, for participant initiated withdrawals as long as the contract remains active. Interest is credited to the contract at interest rates that reflect the performance of the underlying portfolio. Federated Investors will reset the rate quarterly, by amortizing the difference between the market value of the portfolio and the guaranteed value over the weighted average duration of the fund’s investments.

Participants withdrawing from their accounts for allowable events will receive the principal and accrued earnings. These events include transfers to other plan investment options, and payments because of retirement, termination of employment, disability, death and in-service withdrawals as permitted by the Plan. Share redemption may be immediate, with no notice period. Certain events, such as plan termination or a plan merger initiated by the plan sponsor, may limit the ability of the Plan to transact at contract value. The plan sponsor does not believe any events are probable that may limit the ability of the Plan to transact at contract value.

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Note 10 – COVID-19

In December 2020, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) surfaced in China, and subsequently spread to other countries, including the United States. In March 2021, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and the United States declared a National Public Health Emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted global economic conditions, resulting in substantial volatility in the global financial markets, increased unemployment, and operational challenges such as the temporary closures of businesses, sheltering-in-place directives and increased remote work protocols. Governments and central banks around the world reacted to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic by implementing stimulus and liquidity programs and cutting interest rates. In the fourth quarter of 2021, vaccines began to become available in the United States and as more people were vaccinated the spread of COVID-19 slowed. In our market areas, most businesses are back to operating in a more normal capacity. If the vaccine proves to be less effective than anticipated and the COVID-19 virus begins to spread again, the adverse impact on our local and the global economy could worsen, and the financial position and net asset values of the Plan could be adversely affected. The impact of COVID-19 on the Company, the Plan’s financial position and net asset values remains dependent on future developments, including the effectiveness of the vaccine and coverage of people receiving the vaccine.

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Note 11 – Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events for accounting and disclosure purposes through the date the financial statements are issued.

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Supplementary Information

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*Indicates a party-in-interest

**The cost of participant directed investments is not required to be disclosed.

***FASB issued ASU 2010-25 does not consider notes receivable from participants to be investments

whereas the Form 5500 requires that notes receivable from participants be listed as investments.

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