Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Form SSA-25 is the Certificate of Election for Reduced Spouse’s Benefits. Social Security requires it when you take a spouse’s benefit before full retirement age, because the reduction is permanent. The reduction is 25/36 of 1 percent per month for the first 36 months early and 5/12 of 1 percent per month beyond that. At full retirement age 67, starting at 62 gives a spouse 32.5% of the worker’s unreduced benefit instead of 50%.
Quick reference
| Item | As printed on the form or in Social Security’s retirement booklet |
|---|---|
| First 36 months early | 25/36 of 1 percent per month |
| Months beyond 36 | 5/12 of 1 percent per month |
| Earliest start | The month you are 62 |
| Retroactive | Up to 12 months before the month the certificate is filed |
| Spouse maximum | Up to half of the worker’s full benefit, at full retirement age |
| Spouse at 62, full retirement age 67 | 32.5% of the worker’s unreduced benefit |
| Time to complete | About 13 minutes, per the form |
What the form does
The form states its own reason: “Choosing to receive spouse’s insurance benefits before FRA will result in a permanent reduction in your monthly benefits.” “the law requires that we obtain a certificate of election if you wish to receive the permanently reduced benefit.”
Three further rules are printed on page one. “No reduced spouse’s benefit may begin before the month you are 62.” The certificate can pay back a year: “These reduced benefits may be paid for as many as 12 months before the month this certificate is filed.” And if you are entitled to your own retirement benefit that month: “you will be considered to have applied for them.” That last sentence is deemed filing, which our page on why delaying does not raise a spousal benefit follows through.
The reduction formula, recomputed
The form gives the formula: “The amount of the reduction is 25/36 of 1 percent for each of the first 36 months from the start of the permanently reduced benefits to, but not including, the month you reach FRA.” “The reduction is 5/12 of 1 percent for each such month in excess of 36.”
Applied to a spouse whose full retirement age is 67 (born 1960 or later), the percent reduced is the months early up to 36 times 25/36, plus the months early beyond 36 times 5/12, and the spouse share of the worker’s unreduced benefit is 50% times one minus that reduction. Computed here from the printed formula:
| Spouse starts at | Months early | Reduction | Share of worker’s unreduced benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 62 | 60 | 35% | 32.5% |
| Age 63 | 48 | 30% | 35% |
| Age 64 | 36 | 25% | 37.5% |
| Age 65 | 24 | 16.67% | 41.67% |
| Age 66 | 12 | 8.33% | 45.83% |
The first row matches the booklet’s own figure: “if full retirement age is 67, a spouse can get 32.5% of the worker’s unreduced benefit at age 62.” The booklet puts the ceiling at “Spouses who never worked or have low earnings can get up to half of a retired worker’s full benefits.” The table assumes a full retirement age of 67 and ignores any reduction for the spouse’s own work record. Check your own date of birth against the booklet’s full retirement age chart.
What the form asks and how to sign
Question 1 names the worker and Question 2 names you, each with a Social Security number. Question 3 is the election itself: you elect permanently reduced benefits under section 202(q) of the Social Security Act beginning with a month and year. Question 4 asks whether you worked in the railroad industry for 5 years or more.
Page two is the declaration under penalty of perjury, with the signature in ink, telephone number and address. Witnesses are needed only for a mark (X). The form also warns about other benefits: “if another beneficiary(ies) other than the wage earner (e.g., a student child beneficiary) is entitled to a monthly benefit on this Social Security number, election for a reduced spouse’s benefit may cause a reduction in total monthly benefits.”
When to hold off
A spouse can often do better by waiting, because a spousal benefit stops growing at full retirement age but does grow until then. Run your own numbers in the married couple claiming calculator and read Social Security timing before you sign. The certificate is the point of no return for the reduction.
The edition read for this page is Form SSA-25 (10-2026) as the agency served it on 2026-10-19. Check the edition printed on the copy you use, because a later edition can change the questions, the mailing instructions and the evidence asked for.
Common mistakes
- Signing to start at 62 without seeing the permanent cut. At full retirement age 67 the spouse share falls from 50% to 32.5%.
- Treating the cut as small. Starting at 62 with a full retirement age of 67 takes 35% off the spouse benefit, and the form says it never grows back.
- Forgetting the retroactive limit. The certificate pays at most 12 months back from the month it is filed.
- Missing the deemed filing line: if you are eligible for your own retirement benefit that month, you are considered to have applied for it.
Related: Form SSA-2, why delaying does not raise a spousal benefit, the married couple claiming calculator, and Social Security and Medicare forms.
Sources
- Form SSA-25 (10-2026), Certificate of Election for Reduced Spouse’s Benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-25.pdf
- SSA Publication 05-10035 (2026), Retirement Benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10035.pdf
Read from the Social Security Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services documents linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not legal or benefits advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 is the right place to confirm anything consequential.