The Department for Work and Pensions is increasing weekly benefit payments to additional spouses in polygamous marriages by nearly £6 per week starting in April, sparking criticism from taxpayer advocacy groups.

Additional spouses in polygamous marriages who are above state pension age currently receive £119.50 per week through Pension Credit or Housing Benefit. This amount will rise to £125.25 per week in April 2026, representing a 4.8% increase aligned with wage growth.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance has expressed strong opposition to the practice. Benjamin Elks, the organization’s grassroots development manager, called the government’s willingness to make welfare payments to those in polygamous marriages “simply astounding,” particularly as Income Tax brackets remain frozen.

While bigamy—marrying multiple people simultaneously—is illegal in the UK, polygamy itself is not prohibited when the marriages occurred overseas in countries where such unions are legal. If individuals legally married multiple spouses abroad and subsequently moved to the UK through proper legal channels, their additional spouses can claim supplemental benefits.

The weekly payment for additional spouses is lower than what they would receive living independently (£238 per week), but it does increase the overall household income compared to a standard two-person marriage. There is no specified limit on the number of additional spouses who can claim benefits within a single household, though general household benefit caps still apply.

According to DWP documentation for 2026-2027 benefit rates, when all members of a polygamous marriage have reached pensionable age after April 1, 2021, the primary couple receives £363.25 per week, with each additional spouse in the same household entitled to £125.25 weekly.

The DWP believes the number of claimants is small, though specific figures have not been provided.

A 2023 House of Commons report on polygamy clarifies that all marriages conducted in the UK must be monogamous. For a polygamous marriage to be recognized as valid in UK law, the parties must have been domiciled in a country permitting such marriages and entered into the union in a jurisdiction allowing polygamy.

Government policy has consistently aimed to prevent the formation of polygamous households within the UK. Immigration laws prohibit UK residents from sponsoring multiple spouses for entry or residence. However, additional spouses may enter the UK independently through other immigration categories.

The benefits structure differs between traditional welfare systems and Universal Credit, which does not recognize polygamous marriages in its regulations. This means some polygamous households may receive higher payments under Universal Credit than under previous benefit systems.

In 2024, Conservative Life Peer Baroness Buscombe questioned whether the benefits system continues to recognize polygamy in social security regulations and why this practice persists.