The DWP is still paying out a benefit worth as much as £6,513 to people who are second or third wives living in the UK, and the amount is being increased by another £299 from April. A very unusual set of fully legal circumstances allows people to claim £119.50 per week in Pension Credit or Housing Benefit, and this is being increased by the DWP by another 4.8% in line with wage growth in 2026, to £125.25.

The DWP has confirmed in its benefits uprating list for 2025-26 that ‘additional spouses’ in ‘polygamous marriages’ are being given a 4.8% boost to their benefits from April. Those who are classed as an ‘additional spouse’ in a polygamous marriage and are above state pension age are currently able to claim the benefit, with no given limit on the number of separate additional spouses

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