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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 3
HOUSE BILL 1083
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/12/26
Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 6/30/26
Short Title: Voluntary Portable Benefits Plan Act. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 30, 2026
*H1083-v-3*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO ENACT THE VOLUNTARY PORTABLE BENEFITS PLAN ACT. 2
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3
SECTION 1. Chapter 66 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 4
to read: 5
"Article 53. 6
"Voluntary Portable Benefits Plan Act. 7
"§ 66-530. Title; definitions. 8
(a) This Article is known and may be cited as the "Voluntary Portable Benefits Plan Act." 9
(b) The following definitions apply in this Article: 10
(1) Bank. – A banking corporation entitled to operate in this State under Chapter 11
53C of the General Statutes with deposits insured by the Federal Deposit 12
Insurance Corporation. 13
(2) Commissioner. – The Commissioner of the North Carolina Department of 14
Labor. 15
(3) Compensation. – Remuneration for services performed by an independent 16
contractor. 17
(4) Contribution. – Funds deposited into a portable benefits account. 18
(5) Contributor. – A person or entity, other than the account owner and including 19
a hiring party, who makes a contribution to a portable benefit account. 20
(6) Hiring party. – A person or entity, whether public or private, including an 21
internet or application-based company, who hires or enters into a contract for 22
the performance of work with an independent contractor. 23
(7) Independent contractor. – As defined in G.S. 96-1(b)(19). 24
(8) Portable benefit account or account. – An account owned by an independent 25
contractor that is administered by a portable benefit account provider and used 26
to fund the purchase of one or more portable benefit plans. 27
(9) Portable benefit account provider or account provider. – Any of the following 28
that administer a portable benefit account: 29
a. A bank. 30
b. An investment management firm. 31
c. A technology provider or program manager that offers services 32
through a bank or investment management firm. 33
d. Any other person who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the 34
Commissioner that the manner in which the person administer s 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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portable benefit account s is consistent with the requirements under 1
G.S. 66-532. 2
(10) Portable benefit plan. – A plan that meets all of the following conditions: 3
a. It funds benefits permissible under G.S. 66-531(c). 4
b. It is chosen by an independent contractor and is assigned to a 5
beneficiary other than a hiring party. 6
c. It is administered by a third-party portable benefit plan provider. 7
(11) Portable benefit plan provider. – A person or entity licensed or otherwise 8
authorized to offer insurance or benefit plans in the State. 9
"§ 66-531. Portable benefit accounts; contributions; ownership; applicability. 10
(a) Voluntary Contributions; Written Agreement. – Any person or entity, including an 11
internet or application-based entity, may make a contribution to a portable benefit account. The 12
following provisions apply to a hiring party that makes a contribution to a portable benefit 13
account owned by an independent contractor with whom the hiring party has entered into a 14
contract for the performance or work: 15
(1) The independent contractor must affirmatively opt in through an express 16
written agreement that is clear, unambiguous, and prominently displayed 17
either in a work contract or a separate invoice. The agreement must indicate 18
that the making of contributions by a hiring party and the rec eipt of 19
contributions by an independent contractor are voluntary and must allow the 20
independent contractor to opt out at any time. 21
(2) The hiring party shall not induce or require an independent contractor to 22
maintain an account with a specific portable be nefit account provider as a 23
condition of receiving contributions. 24
(3) The hiring party shall treat contributions as compensation. 25
(b) Ownership and Portability . – A portable benefit account is at all times the sole 26
property of the independent contractor who owns it. Funds in the account, including contributions 27
and earnings, are not subject to claims of a contributor or the account's creditors arising from the 28
hiring relationship and do not revert to the hiring party. A hiring party has no ownership, 29
reversionary, or control interest in a portable benefit account. The account owner may, at any 30
time and without penalty, beyond reasonable disclosed transfer costs, (i) cease contributions, (ii) 31
change the portable benefit plans purchased through the account, and (iii) transfer the account 32
balance to another qualified portable benefit account provider. 33
(c) Permitted Use of Funds. – Portable benefit a ccount funds may be used only to 34
purchase portable benefit plans for the benefits listed in this subsection , to pay reasonable and 35
disclosed portable benefit account fees, or for distribution to the portable benefit account owner. 36
The permissible benefits are: 37
(1) Health Savings Accounts. 38
(2) Flexibility Spending Accounts. 39
(3) Health Reimbursement Arrangements. 40
(4) Transportation/parking accounts. 41
(5) Health insurance. 42
(6) Healthcare sharing contributions. 43
(7) Healthcare subscriptions. 44
(8) Income replacement insurance. 45
(9) Disability insurance. 46
(10) Life insurance. 47
(11) Individual Retirement Accounts. 48
(12) 401(k) retirement accounts. 49
(13) Retirement savings accounts. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 1083-Third Edition Page 3
(d) Not Evidence of Employer-Employee Relationship. – Contributions by a hiring party 1
to a portable benefit account are not treated as evidence that a worker is an employee of the hiring 2
party under State unemployment insurance, worker 's compensation, or labor laws. Nothing in 3
this Article alters, expands, or contracts the test for independent contractor status under any other 4
provision of law, and the existence of a portable benefit account or any contribution to it shall 5
not be a factor in that determination. 6
(e) Inapplicability to State Unemployment Insuran ce. – Nothing in this Article affect s 7
entitlement to unemployment insurance benefits under Chapter 96 of the General Statutes. 8
"§ 66-532. Portable benefit account providers. 9
(a) Selection. – An independent contractor who opts in to receiving contributions from a 10
hiring party shall select a portable benefit account provider to administer the funds. 11
(b) Limitations. – The following limitations app ly with respect to portable benefit 12
account providers: 13
(1) A hiring party, or an entity controlled by or under common control with a 14
hiring party, shall not serve as the portable benefit account provider for an 15
independent contractor it engages, except as a pass -through contributor of 16
funds. 17
(2) A portable benefit account provider shal l not condition the distribution of 18
funds in a portable benefit account on continued work for any hiring party. 19
(c) Segregation of Funds. – A portable benefit account provider shall hold all account 20
funds in trust for, or as custodian for, the benefit of t he account owner, segregated from the 21
provider's own assets and from the assets of a hiring party. Account provider funds shall not be 22
commingled with portable benefit account funds. 23
(d) Fee Disclosure. – Before an independent contractor opens an account or any 24
contributions under G.S. 66-531 are made, the account provider shall disclose, in writing and in 25
clear and conspicuous terms, all fees, charges, and penalties associated with the account, and any 26
material change shall be disclosed in writing at least 30 days before it takes effect. 27
(e) Financial Responsibility. – A portable benefit account provider , other than a bank , 28
shall maintain a fidelity bond, errors and omissions coverage, or other financial assurance in an 29
amount established by the Commissioner sufficient to protect account owners against loss from 30
the account provider's negligence, fraud, or insolvency. 31
(f) Record Keeping; Audit. – A portable benefit account provider shall maintain accurate 32
records of all contributions, earnings, fees, and distributions for each portable benefit account, 33
shall furnish each account owner with a statement no less than quarterly, and shall make its 34
records available, upon request, to the Commissioner or the Secretary of Revenue, as applicable. 35
The Commissioner may audit an account provider's compliance with this Article. 36
(g) Standard of Care. – A portable benefit account provider shall administer each account 37
solely in the interest of the account owner and with the care, skill, and diligence that a prudent 38
administrator uses. 39
(h) Commissioner Approval; Revocation; Rulemaking . – The Commissioner may 40
approve a person under G.S. 66-530(b)(9)d. only upon a showing of compliance with this section 41
and may suspend or revoke approval for noncompliance after notice and an opportunity to be 42
heard. The Commissioner shall maintain and publish a list of approved portable benefit account 43
providers. The Commissioner of Labor may adopt rules necessary to make a determination under 44
G.S. 66-530(b)(9)d." 45
SECTION 2. G.S. 105-153.5(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 46
"(18) The amount of a contribution made to a portable benefit account under 47
G.S. 66-531 during the taxable year to the extent it is included in the taxpayer's 48
adjusted gross income." 49
SECTION 3. G.S. 105-153.5(c) reads as rewritten: 50
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"(c) Additions. – In calculating North Carolina taxable income, a taxpayer must add to the 1
taxpayer's adjusted gross income any of the following items that are not included in the taxpayer's 2
adjusted gross income: 3
… 4
(8) The amount withdrawn from a portable benefit account to the extent this 5
amount was withdrawn and not used to pay for a portable benefit plan as 6
permitted under Article 53 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes." 7
SECTION 4. G.S. 105-163.3(b) reads as rewritten: 8
"(b) Exemptions. – The withholding requirement does not apply to the following: 9
… 10
(6) Compensation deposited into a portable benefit account on behalf of a payee 11
in accordance with Article 53 of Chapter 66 of the General Statutes." 12
SECTION 5. G.S. 105-251.2 is amended by adding a new subsection as follows: 13
"(c1) Portable Benefit Account Provider. – A portable benefit account provider, as defined 14
under G.S. 66-530, must give information to the Secretary when the Secretary requests the 15
information. The Secretary may not request the information more than once per calendar year. 16
The Secretary may request a portable benefit account provider to provide, on a return, report, or 17
otherwise, a portable benefit account owner 's name, tax identification number, records of 18
contributions and distributions from any portable benefit account owned by an account owner, 19
and other information that the Secretary deems necessary to determine compliance with this 20
Chapter." 21
SECTION 6. This act becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to taxable 22
years beginning on or after that date. 23