What Is Portability?

Portability refers to an employee's option to retain certain benefits when switching employers. Some pension plans and health insurance have portability. Most 401(k) plans also have portability of benefits, as do 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:health savings accounts (HSAs).

How Portability Works

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Portability is a U.S. employee's legal r🎃ight to maintain certain benefits when switching employers ♚or leaving the workforce.

The Health Insurance Porꦬtability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) details rights and pro꧟tections for participants in gr🐲oup health plans.

HIPAA

HIPAA states that employer health insurance plans may not be able to exclude coverage for employees with preexisting conditions. It also provides opportunities to enroll in a group health plan if either coverage is lost or 🅷certain life events occur. The law prohibits discrimination against employees and th🦹eir dependent family members based on health factors. The law assures that certain people will have access to, and can renew individual health insurance policies.

HIPAA published a report in March 2018 in w💝hich Director Roger Severino hinted there could be some 2018 changes to HIPAA. The Trumpও administration has communicated a tendency to decrease rather than increase federal regulation. This has the potential to translate to a reduced burden of compliance and greater information sharing among healthcare organizations.

At the same time, the Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union is forcing many inter🎶national companies that offer healthcare benefits to employees to tighten their policies regarding data-s𓂃haring. Now, with regards to portability, organizations must carry out lengthy audits of personal data, including determining the type, location, and purpose of the data, along with its administrator, current security measures, and ability with which individuals can access it.

COBRA

In the U.S., the Cons🍸oli♊dated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) is a federal law that allows eligible employees to continue their 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:health insurance coverage for ✃a period of time after losing a job. COBRA allows former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children to retain t🌺he same health insurance coverage at group rates that otherwise would be lost with the job.

While these individuals will likely pay more for health insurance coverage through COBRA than they would have as an employee, COBRA coverage is typically less expensive than a🍸n individual health insurance plan would be.

It's important to note that COBRA is a health insurance law and does not cover 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:life insurance or 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:disability insurance.

Portability and IRA Rollovers

Portability is an important concept in an IRA rollover. Individuals with 401(k) plans can roll over into an IRA or a new company's 401(k).♏ An IRA (or any other retirement account) rollover occurs when a person changes jobs and instructs the old company's retirement plan administrator to transfer the account balance to the new company's administrator.

The rollover process is called a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:direct rollover. Taxes are not owed with a direct rollover or trustee-to-trustee transfer. A trustee-to-trustee transfer is when the two financial institutions (the original holder of the IRA and the new institution) make the transfer of IRA funds, and the individual doesn't receive a check.

In the case of a 60-day rollover, the funds are paid directly to the investor, who deposits some or all of the funds in another retirement plan or IRA within 60 days. However, any funds that are not rolled over within 60 days are typically taxable. If the person is younger than age 59½, there will also be early withdrawal penalties on those assets.