The provision applies to unions formed abroad in jurisdictions where polygamy is lawful, between partners domiciled in those countries at the time, who later relocated to Britain.
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that “additional spouses” in “polygamous marriages” are receiving a 4.8 per cent rise in benefits from April 2026, even though polygamy and bigamy remain illegal in the country.
According to the department’s annual uprating list, second, third or fourth spouses living in polygamous households who are above state pension age can claim £125.25 (€145) per week each in Pension Credit or Housing Benefit, up from £119.50 (€138) in 2025-26.
There is no cap on the number of additional spouses who can claim the allowance, though the overall household benefit ceiling still applies.
The rise – worth roughly £5.75 (€6.65) per week or £299 (€346) per year – is tied to wage growth, the formula used to uprate Pension Credit each spring. Over a year, each additional spouse stands to receive about £6,513 (€7,529).
The DWP’s benefits and pension rates document for 2026-27 sets the weekly allowance for the claimant and the first spouse at £363.25 (€420), with £125.25 added “for each additional spouse who is a member of the same household as the claimant”.
All marriages contracted in the UK must be monogamous to be legally recognised. The provision applies to unions formed abroad in jurisdictions where polygamy is lawful, between partners domiciled in those countries at the time, who later relocated to Britain.
A House of Commons research briefing on polygamy, published in 2023, stated: “It has been the policy of successive governments to prevent the formation of polygamous households in the UK.”
Since the Immigration Act 1988, UK residents have been barred from bringing a second spouse through the spouse-visa route, though additional spouses can enter the country independently on other visas such as work or study.
Universal Credit, the unified working-age benefit gradually replacing legacy payments such as Income Support, Housing Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance, does not recognise polygamous households. Under the newer system, each adult in a household must claim as a single person.
In a 2024 written reply to a question tabled by Conservative life peer Baroness Buscombe, Conservative Viscount Younger of Leckie said: “Polygamous marriages are illegal in the UK. Universal Credit does not recognise polygamous households in the benefit system.”
He added that older benefits “do recognise a small number of polygamous marriages which took place in a jurisdiction where polygamy is permitted”.
The DWP has not published the number of additional spouses receiving the payment but believes it to be small. The pool of eligible households is expected to shrink as Universal Credit replaces legacy benefits, with Pension Credit set to remain the main route through which the rule continues to apply.
The issue has resurfaced amid wider debates across western Europe about immigration, integration and the recognition of foreign marital practices that conflict with domestic law.
There doesnt seem to be alot more the UK regime can do to demonstrate who their preferred citizens are. The natives get the short end every single time.