is made out directly to you (instead of to the <strong>Plan</strong>), you mustdeposit the check into an eligible employer plan or an IRAwithin 60 days from the date on the check to avoid a taxobligation that year on the rollover amount.Lowe’s does not match rollover contributions.Your Account andInvestingPlease review the following important information whichdescribes how your <strong>Plan</strong> account works, including how vestingworks, how to access/make changes to your <strong>Plan</strong> account, andhow investing, voting shares and dividends work.Vesting∗Vesting refers to the percentage of your account that you ownoutright. You are always 100% vested in the total amount ofyour account in the <strong>Plan</strong>.How to Access/Make Changesto Your <strong>Plan</strong> Account*You may access your balance and account information, andmake changes in your account, at the <strong>Plan</strong>’s web site,accessible through the employee portal atwww.myloweslife.com (<strong>My</strong> Wealth > Wealth Related QuickLinks > <strong>401</strong>(k) > <strong>401</strong>(k) at ADP) or directly atwww.mykplan.com, or by calling 1-877-236-5693. Whencalling, you will need your Social Security number and PIN toaccess your account. If you have lost or misplaced your PIN(provided initially to you in a letter mail to your homeapproximately 90 days before you became eligible toparticipate), you may request your PIN by calling1-877-236-5693.∗Specific portions of this document, designated with an asterisk (*), constitutepart of a prospectus covering securities that have been registered under theSecurities Act of 1933Investments*This investment disclosure statement is required bySection 404(c) of the Employee Retirement Security Act of1974, as amended (ERISA). Section 404(c) of ERISA requiresthe <strong>Plan</strong> to provide you with this information, along with otherinformation provided separately from this summary plandescription, so that you may have sufficient information tomake an informed decision regarding investment alternativesavailable under the <strong>Plan</strong>.This <strong>Plan</strong> is intended to be a plan described in Section 404(c) ofERISA and Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations§ 2550.404c-1. This means that the <strong>Plan</strong>’s trustee, the <strong>Plan</strong>administrator, and other fiduciaries of the <strong>Plan</strong> (i.e., the personswho control the investment of <strong>Plan</strong> assets) may be relieved ofliability for any investment losses that are the direct andnecessary result of investment instructions given by you underthe <strong>Plan</strong>. In other words, the <strong>Plan</strong> fiduciaries are responsiblefor choosing what investment options and investment managersare available under the <strong>Plan</strong>, and you are responsible forchoosing how to invest your account among those variousoptions. You must decide what the best investment mix is,given your own situation. The <strong>Plan</strong> fiduciaries are notresponsible for your investment choices.The <strong>Plan</strong> offers different investment options, and the optionsmay change from time to time. You make the decision on howto invest the amounts in your account. You may elect to investin one or any combination of the optionsoffered by the <strong>Plan</strong>.Company Matching contributions are invested just like yourcontributions. Further, if you are enrolled automatically, unlessyou elect different investment allocations, your contributionswill be initially invested in the Vanguard Target RetirementDate Fund geared to your expected retirement at age 65. Youcan redirect your account assets into any of the other <strong>Plan</strong>investment options at any time.You can separately direct the investment of your RolloverAccount.ESOP account contributions are initially invested in Lowe’sstock, but you can redirect these account assets at any time.Indeciding whether to exercise your right to redirect theinvestment of your ESOP account assets, you will want to givecareful consideration to the information below describing theimportance of diversification. All of the investment optionsunder the <strong>Plan</strong> are available to you if you decide to diversifyout of company stock.8
<strong>401</strong>(k) <strong>Plan</strong>On any day the stock market is open, you may make transfersamong the <strong>Plan</strong>’s investment options at the <strong>Plan</strong>’s web site,accessible through the employee portal atwww.myloweslife.com (<strong>My</strong> Wealth > Wealth Related QuickLinks > <strong>401</strong>(k) > <strong>401</strong>(k) at ADP) or directly at www.mykplan..You can also make transfers by calling 1-877-236-5693.Participant-initiated transaction(s) involving the movement ofmoney into or out of Lowe’s stock (including withdrawals anddistributions) must be entered by 2:00 p.m. Eastern time eachbusiness day for the transaction to be processed that day.Transactions entered after this time will be processed the nextbusiness day. All other requests (those not involving Lowe’sstock) must be entered by 4:00 p.m. Eastern time each businessday. Transactions entered after this time will be processed thenext business day.You can find a listing of available investment options on theemployee portal at www.myloweslife.com (<strong>My</strong> Wealth >Wealth Related Quick Links > <strong>401</strong>(k) Funds Brochure) or atthe <strong>Plan</strong>’s web site, accessible through the employee portal atwww.myloweslife.com (<strong>My</strong> Wealth > Wealth Related QuickLinks > <strong>401</strong>(k) > <strong>401</strong>(k) at ADP) or directly atwww.mykplan.com, or by calling 1-877-236-5693. A mutualfund’s investment strategy is subject to change, and futureperformance cannot be guaranteed. Investment return andprincipal value will fluctuate, and mutual fund shares, whenredeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.As with any fund, there is no assurance that the fund willachieve its goal. Past performance figures should not beviewed as a representation of future investment performance ofthe stock market or the fund. For complete information about afund, including fees and expenses, refer to the prospectus forthat fund that is available under “Fund Information” at the<strong>Plan</strong>’s web site, accessible through the employee portal atwww.myloweslife.com (<strong>My</strong> Wealth > Wealth Related QuickLinks > <strong>401</strong>(k) > <strong>401</strong>(k) at ADP) or directly atwww.mykplan.com.By providing this information, Lowe’s is not giving tax orinvestment advice. You should speak to a certified financialplanner, tax accountant, or other investment professionalbefore making any investment or retirement decision.The Importance of Diversifying Your Retirement SavingsTo help achieve long-term retirement security, you should givecareful consideration to the benefits of a well balanced anddiversified investment portfolio. Spreading your assets amongdifferent types of investments can help you achieve a favorablerate of return, while minimizing your overall risk of losingmoney. This is because market or other economic conditionsthat cause one category of assets, or one particular security, toperform very well often cause another asset category, or otherparticular security, to perform poorly. If you invest more than20% of your retirement savings in any one company orindustry, your savings may not be properly diversified.Although diversification is not a guarantee against loss, it is aneffective strategy to help you manage investment risk.In deciding how to invest your retirement savings, you shouldtake into account all of your assets, including any retirementsavings outside of the <strong>Plan</strong>. No single approach is right foreveryone because, among other factors, individuals havedifferent financial goals, different time horizons for meetingtheir goals, and different tolerances for risk. Therefore, youshould carefully consider the rights described in this Summary<strong>Plan</strong> Description and how these rights affect the amount ofmoney that you invest in any one particular investment option,particularly Lowe’s Stock, through the <strong>Plan</strong>.It is also important to review periodically your investmentportfolio, your investment objectives, and the investmentoptions under the <strong>Plan</strong> to help insure that your retirementsavings will meet your retirement goals.Voting SharesIf your account is invested in Lowe’s stockor you have Lowe’sstock in your ESOP account on the annual record date, you willbe entitled to vote the shares of stock in your account. Beforeeach annual shareholder meeting, you will receive theinformation provided to other shareholders, as well asinstructions on how to exercise your voting rights.DividendsIf your account is invested in Lowe’s stock or you haveLowe’s stock in your ESOP account, when dividends are paidon shares of Lowe’s stock, the dividends will be reinvested intoyour account automatically, unless you elect to receive thedividends in cash, in which case a check for the dividends willbe sent to you. You can elect to have your dividends paid toyou in cash at the <strong>Plan</strong>’s web site, accessible through theemployee portal at www.myloweslife.com (<strong>My</strong> Wealth >Wealth Related Quick Links > <strong>401</strong>(k) > <strong>401</strong>(k) at ADP) ordirectly at www.mykplan.com, or by calling 1-877-236-5693.Your most recent election on file with the <strong>Plan</strong>’s recordkeeperat each quarterly dividend declaration date will be your officialdividend election.9