The Social Security Administration will begin paying full benefits to individuals who have for years received reduced payments because of a pension from certain government jobs.

The administration will also send retroactive payments to cover benefits lost since Jan. 1, 2024, the date when the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset no longer applied after the Social Security Fairness Act became law last month.

The act, which was co-authored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, eliminated longstanding reductions to Social Security payments for people receiving pensions from work in federal, state or local government, or who worked public service jobs, including teachers and firefighters.

More than 26,000 Mainers — and roughly 3.2 million Americans overall — will see their benefits increase, Collins’ office said.

Collins called the announcement “welcome news” for beneficiaries.

“I will continue to urge SSA to implement the law swiftly as we finally right this wrong,” she said in a written statement Wednesday.

Former President Joe Biden signed the bill into law Jan. 5, after it received bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.

Earlier this month, Collins and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, signed a letter to then-acting Social Security Commissioner Michelle King urging the new law’s immediate implementation. They said the previous benefit reductions “unfairly penalized” certain government workers.

Those eligible for an adjustment may receive their payment several weeks before getting an explanation in the mail, the administration said.

This story has been updated to correct the date to which retroactive benefits apply. Adjustments will apply to benefits since January 2024.