Financing Receivables (Credit Quality Information Text) (Details 2) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) item	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) item
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans, gross	$ 3,626		$ 3,944
Sales of financing receivables	271	$ 6
90 days or more past due
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Nonperforming loans	11		10
Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Segment [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans, gross	$ 2,747		$ 2,755
Percentage of commercial mortgage loans with highest risk rating	1.00%		1.00%
Syndicated loans [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans, gross	$ 542		$ 553
Syndicated loans [Member] \| 90 days or more past due
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Nonperforming loans	9		6
Residential and Consumer Portfolio Segment [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Total loans, gross	$ 337		$ 636
Percentage of residential mortgage loans below specific FICO score	3.00%		4.00%
FICO score \| item	640		640
Percentage of residential mortgage loans above specific LTV ratio	0.00%		2.00%
LTV ratio	90.00%		90.00%
Percentage of loan portfolio represented by state of California	32.00%		37.00%
PercentageOfLoanPortfolioRepresentedByColoradoState	11.00%
Sales of financing receivables	$ 271
Proceeds from sale of loans	260
Losses from sale of loans	$ 11

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 total loan portfolio represented by Colorado State.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	amp_PercentageOfLoanPortfolioRepresentedByColoradoState
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

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Recorded Investment in financing receivables that are past due at the balance sheet date.

+ 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=49124121&loc=SL6953401-111524

+ Details

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

- Definition

The amount of any significant sales of financing receivables during the reporting period.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 11B
-Subparagraph (f)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49124121&loc=SL6953423-111524

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivableSignificantSales
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Reflects the net positive or negative amount derived from subtracting from net proceeds of sale and the carrying amounts, net of allocated reserves, of financial assets transferred to third parties in transactions that qualify for sales treatment.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 860
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=51814546&loc=d3e107425-111719

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LoansAndLeasesReceivableGainLossOnSalesNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount representing an agreement for an unconditional promise by the maker to pay the entity (holder) a definite sum of money at a future date. Such amount may include accrued interest receivable in accordance with the terms of the note. The note also may contain provisions and related items including a discount or premium, payable on demand, secured, or unsecured, interest bearing or noninterest bearing, among a myriad of other features and characteristics. Excludes amounts related to receivables held-for-sale.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.10(3))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878

+ Details

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

- Definition

The net cash inflow from (a) sales of loans held-for-investment, (b) sales of leases held-for-investment, and (c) both. Includes proceeds from securitizations of loans.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 12
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=56944662&loc=d3e3179-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ProceedsFromSaleOfLoansAndLeasesHeldForInvestment
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_FinancingReceivablesPeriodPastDueAxis=us-gaap_FinancingReceivablesEqualToGreaterThan90DaysPastDueMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

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

- Details

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

- Details

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