Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ 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
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 3,103	$ 2,886	$ 3,128	$ 3,053	$ 3,089	$ 3,111	$ 3,072	$ 2,996	$ 12,170	[1]	$ 12,268	[1]	$ 11,199	[1]
Income from continuing operations before income tax provision	446	463	615	618	558	720	619	650	2,142		2,547		1,970
Income from continuing operations	380	352	476	479	454	565	467	516	1,687		2,002		1,478
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	0	0	0	(1)	0	0	(1)	0		(2)		(3)
Net income	380	352	476	479	453	565	467	515	1,687		2,000		1,475
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	23	(45)	61	86	28	145	93	115	$ 125		$ 381		$ 141
Net income attributable to Ameriprise Financial	$ 357	$ 397	$ 415	$ 393	$ 425	$ 420	$ 374	$ 400
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
Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic	176.6	180.4	183.8	186.3	187.9	190.3	192.7	195.5	181.7		191.6		203.2
Diluted	178.9	182.7	186.4	189.1	191.2	193.7	196.2	199.1	184.2		195.0		207.1
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0.67	$ 0.67	$ 0.67	$ 0.58	$ 0.58	$ 0.58	$ 0.58	$ 0.52	$ 2.59		$ 2.26		$ 2.01
Common share price:
High (in dollars per share)	120.29	129.22	131.76	138.26	137.33	128.51	120.32	116.82	120.29		137.33
Low (in dollars per share)	$ 100.08	$ 95.52	$ 120.83	$ 121.49	$ 105.41	$ 116.02	$ 100.94	$ 101.29	$ 100.08		$ 105.41

[1] (2) Includes foreign net revenues of $1,038, $1,315 and $897 for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.