Financing Receivables (Credit Quality Information Text) (Details 3) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Financing receivables
Nonperforming loans	$ 12	$ 22
Syndicated loans [Member]
Financing receivables
Nonperforming loans	$ 4	$ 4
Commercial mortgage loans [Member]
Financing receivables
Percentage of commercial mortgage loans with highest risk rating	1.00%	2.00%
Consumer loans [Member]
Financing receivables
Percentage of residential mortgage loans below specific FICO score	6.00%	5.00%
FICO score	640	640
Percentage of residential mortgage loans above specific LTV ratio	2.00%	2.00%
LTV ratio	90.00%	90.00%
Percentage of total loan portfolio represented by state of California	37.00%	38.00%

Represents the percentage of commercial mortgage loans that the company has assigned its highest risk rating.

No definition available.

Name:	amp_PercentageOfCommercialMortgageLoansWithHighestRiskRating
Namespace Prefix:	amp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the percentage of total loan portfolio represented by California State.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amp_PercentageOfLoanPortfolioRepresentedByCaliforniaState
Namespace Prefix:	amp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the percentage of residential mortgage loans which are above specified Loan-To-Value ratios.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amp_PercentageOfResidentialMortgageLoansAboveSpecifiedLTVRatios
Namespace Prefix:	amp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the percentage of residential mortgage loans which are below specified FICO score.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amp_PercentageOfResidentialMortgageLoansBelowSpecifiedFICOScore
Namespace Prefix:	amp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the maximum specified FICO score used for analysis of credit worthiness of borrowers.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amp_SpecificFICOScore
Namespace Prefix:	amp_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the minimum specified Loan-To-Value ratio used for analysis of collateral characteristics.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amp_SpecifiedLTVRatios
Namespace Prefix:	amp_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccountsNotesAndLoansReceivableLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Financing receivables that are equal to or greater than 90 days past due.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 310

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 7A

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35738203&loc=SL6953401-111524

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableRecordedInvestmentEqualToGreaterThan90DaysPastDue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccountsNotesLoansAndFinancingReceivableByReceivableTypeAxis=amp_SyndicatedLoansMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateLoanTypeAxis=amp_ResidentialandConsumerPortfolioSegmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_MortgageLoansOnRealEstateLoanTypeAxis=us-gaap_CommercialRealEstatePortfolioSegmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: