Earnings per Share Attributable to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Common Shareholders (Basic & Diluted) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Numerator:
Income from continuing operations	$ 380	$ 352	$ 476	$ 479	$ 454	$ 565	$ 467	$ 516	$ 1,687	$ 2,002	$ 1,478
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	23	(45)	61	86	28	145	93	115	125	381	141
Income from continuing operations attributable to Ameriprise Financial									1,562	1,621	1,337
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ (1)	$ 0	$ 0	$ (1)	0	(2)	(3)
Net income attributable to Ameriprise Financial									$ 1,562	$ 1,619	$ 1,334
Denominator:
Basic: Weighted-average common shares outstanding	176,600,000	180,400,000	183,800,000	186,300,000	187,900,000	190,300,000	192,700,000	195,500,000	181,700,000	191,600,000	203,200,000
Effect of potentially dilutive nonqualified stock options and other share-based awards (in shares)									2,500,000	3,400,000	3,900,000
Diluted: Weighted-average common shares outstanding	178,900,000	182,700,000	186,400,000	189,100,000	191,200,000	193,700,000	196,200,000	199,100,000	184,200,000	195,000,000	207,100,000
Basic:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per basic share)	$ 2.02	$ 2.20	$ 2.26	$ 2.11	$ 2.27	$ 2.21	$ 1.94	$ 2.05	$ 8.60	$ 8.46	$ 6.58
Loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per basic share)	0.00				(0.01)	0.00		0.00	0.00	(0.01)	(0.02)
Net income (in dollars per basic share)	2.02	2.20	2.26	2.11	2.26	2.21	1.94	2.05	8.60	8.45	6.56
Earnings Per Share, Diluted
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per diluted share)	2.00	2.17	2.23	2.08	2.23	2.17	1.91	2.01	8.48	8.31	6.46
Loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per diluted share)	0.00				(0.01)				0.00	(0.01)	(0.02)
Net income (in dollars per diluted share)	$ 2.00	$ 2.17	$ 2.23	$ 2.08	$ 2.22	$ 2.17	$ 1.91	$ 2.01	$ 8.48	$ 8.30	$ 6.44
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount									1,700,000	100,000	0