Shares and Stockholders' Equity (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Deferred compensation plan mark to market adjustment	$ 18	$ (7)
Common stock warrant [Member]
Outstanding warrant to purchase common stock (in shares)	275,068
Exercise price of warrant (in dollars per share)	$ 9.73

Mark to market adjustments of the entity's stock associated with non-employee directors' deferred compensation plans.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	lnc_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Exercise price per share or per unit of warrants or rights outstanding.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(i)(4))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:perShareItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of securities into which the class of warrant or right may be converted. For example, but not limited to, 500,000 warrants may be converted into 1,000,000 shares.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(i)(2))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementClassOfStockAxis=us-gaap_WarrantMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: