Social Security consists of two tax components: the FICA or OASDI component (the tax for old-age, survivors’ and disability insurance) and the Medicare component. A separate maximum wage to which the tax is assessed applies to both tax components. There is no maximum taxable annual wage for Medicare. The maximum taxable annual wage for FICA is subject to federal regulatory change. If your annual salary after salary reduction is below the maximum wage cap for FICA, you are reducing the amount of taxes you pay and your Social Security benefits may be reduced at retirement time.

However, the tax savings realized through a cafeteria plan may generally outweigh the Social Security reduction.