(1) Subject to this Act and regulations, prisoner's wife's allowance shall be paid to a woman -
(a) whose husband, being a prisoner, has been committed in custody to a prison or place of detention for a period of not less than 6 months,
(b) who is 40 years of age or over, and
(c) who satisfies the conditions as to means calculated in accordance with the Rules contained in Part II of the Third Schedule.
(2) The rate of prisoner's wife's allowance shall be the same as the rate of the widow's (non-contributory) pension which would be payable to the woman under Chapter 6 if she were a widow.
(3) A prisoner's wife's allowance shall continue to be paid for a period of 4 weeks after the release of the prisoner from a prison or place of detention.