Detroit News Washington Bureau Washington -- General Motors Co. has agreed to pay another $50 million to fund health benefits to nearly 50,000 Delphi Corp. hourly retirees and their dependents, union officials said Tuesday. The workers were represented by the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communication Workers of America and other smaller unions. GM also agreed to a number of other concessions in the deal announced Tuesday, the IUE-CWA announced in a press release. Company spokeswoman Susan Garavaglia said the automaker has ' been in negotiations with the IUE to come to a resolution on retiree health care issues. We are finalizing our discussions,' she said, declining to elaborate. The deal must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, which is home to many Delphi retirees, called it a 'good outcome in an otherwise difficult situation' and said, ' GM and Delphi retirees worked hard and played by the rules and deserve nothing less than the benefits and security they earned.' Under the agreement, retirees under 65 who are covered by GM insurance will be offered an improved package with an extra $50 million in payments. Older retirees will retain a $1 billion claim with the 'old' GM. In addition, Delphi retirees whose pensions were taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a federal corporation that oversees their pensions, will receive the difference if the PBGC reduces their payments. IUE-CWA President Jim Clark said the deal was 'the best we could get in a dreadful situation.' While most of the affected retirees are believed to be in Mississippi and Ohio, some are in other states including Michigan. Eligible retirees under 65 will soon receive information on the cost of the modified, high-deductible plan and forms to elect whether they want to take it. 