Taxes deducted from an employee's earnings to finance social security and Medicare benefits are called FICA taxes.

FICA Taxes

Taxes required by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, funding Social Security and Medicare, deducted from employees' paychecks and matched by employers.

Social Security

A government program providing economic assistance to persons with inadequate or no income, funded by taxes on workers and employers.

Medicare Benefits

Medicare benefits refer to the health care services covered under Medicare, a United States federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a transplant).