The Republicans love to use the word "entitlements" when they are talking about Social Security and Medicare. It makes it sound like the seniors who receive benefits from these programs are somehow taking government (taxpayer) money which they don't deserve. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The recipients of these benefits paid payroll taxes into those programs for all of their working lives, and deserve every penny they get.
Don't believe the Republicans when they try to tell you that these programs are broke or that they are a cause of the national debt either. While the programs could use a small adjustment to the income cap subject to the payroll tax to keep them healthy for many more decades, they are not broke. And Social Security has added nothing to the national debt, while Medicare has added only a very small amount.
The truth is that the Republicans have always hated both of these programs, since they represent the rich (who don't need the programs) -- and they have always wanted to eliminate or privatize both programs (so their rich friends can make money off of them. Don't let them do that. These programs work better than most other fovernment programs, and keep millions of elderly Americans out of abject poverty each year.