American International Group Inc. (AIG) will recover $45 million in the form of returned contentious retention payments made to AIG employees in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported, Thursday.

Employees of the troubled taxpayer-owned insurer have agreed to give back $40 million, while another $5 million will be gained from a reduction in the awards that were due to be given to employees who have left the firm, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The development comes after some of the company’s largest recipients made an agreement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to return $45 million to the company, but little had been collected by the end of the year, the paper said.

The company has been in talks with Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury’s appointed special master for compensation, and will reportedly see to it that the $45 million is returned, according to the Journal.

Shares of AIG fell $1.13 or 3.12% in the regular session, Thursday, to close the session at $35.11 a share. The stock was up 11 cents or 0.31% in after-hours trading.