Investments (EITF info) (Details 5) - Ameriprise Financial [Member] $ in Millions	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) Positions	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) Positions
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	469	302
12 months or more | Positions	219	228
Total | Positions	688	530
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 5,517	$ 3,457
12 months or more	2,059	2,587
Total	7,576	6,044
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(150)	(52)
12 months or more	(119)	(108)
Total	$ (269)	$ (160)
Corporate debt securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	262	182
12 months or more | Positions	32	40
Total | Positions	294	222
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 3,645	$ 2,165
12 months or more	301	689
Total	3,946	2,854
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(133)	(41)
12 months or more	(35)	(18)
Total	$ (168)	$ (59)
Residential mortgage backed securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	85	73
12 months or more | Positions	152	138
Total | Positions	237	211
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 1,190	$ 879
12 months or more	1,330	1,387
Total	2,520	2,266
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(7)	(7)
12 months or more	(46)	(53)
Total	$ (53)	$ (60)
Commercial mortgage backed securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	23	15
12 months or more | Positions	4	12
Total | Positions	27	27
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 234	$ 173
12 months or more	50	131
Total	284	304
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(2)
12 months or more	(1)	(3)
Total	$ (3)	$ (3)
Asset backed securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	27	17
12 months or more | Positions	14	14
Total | Positions	41	31
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 221	$ 201
12 months or more	253	238
Total	474	439
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(2)	(2)
12 months or more	(3)	(4)
Total	$ (5)	$ (6)
State and municipal obligations [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	61	11
12 months or more | Positions	3	10
Total | Positions	64	21
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 180	$ 29
12 months or more	102	115
Total	282	144
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(3)	(1)
12 months or more	(25)	(25)
Total	$ (28)	$ (26)
Foreign government bonds and obligations [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	8	4
12 months or more | Positions	14	14
Total | Positions	22	18
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 46	$ 10
12 months or more	23	27
Total	69	37
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(2)	(1)
12 months or more	(9)	(5)
Total	$ (11)	$ (6)
Common stocks [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	3
12 months or more | Positions	0
Total | Positions	3
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 1
12 months or more	0
Total	1
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(1)
12 months or more	0
Total	$ (1)