Earnings per Share Attributable to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Common Shareholders (Basic & Diluted) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Numerator:
Income from continuing operations									$ 1,314	$ 1,687	$ 2,002
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests					$ 23	$ (45)	$ 61	$ 86	0	125	381
Income from continuing operations attributable to Ameriprise Financial									1,314	1,562	1,621
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax									0	0	(2)
Net income attributable to Ameriprise Financial									$ 1,314	$ 1,562	$ 1,619
Denominator:
Basic: Weighted-average common shares outstanding	160.4	164.0	168.3	172.6	176.6	180.4	183.8	186.3	166.3	181.7	191.6
Effect of potentially dilutive nonqualified stock options and other share-based awards (in shares)									1.9	2.5	3.4
Diluted: Weighted-average common shares outstanding	162.4	165.8	170.1	174.4	178.9	182.7	186.4	189.1	168.2	184.2	195.0
Basic:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per basic share)									$ 7.90	$ 8.60	$ 8.46
Loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per basic share)									0.00	0.00	(0.01)
Net income (in dollars per basic share)	$ 2.49	$ 1.31	$ 1.99	$ 2.11	$ 2.02	$ 2.20	$ 2.26	$ 2.11	7.90	8.60	8.45
Earnings Per Share, Diluted
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per diluted share)									7.81	8.48	8.31
Loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per diluted share)									0.00	0.00	(0.01)
Net income (in dollars per diluted share)	$ 2.46	$ 1.30	$ 1.97	$ 2.09	$ 2.00	$ 2.17	$ 2.23	$ 2.08	$ 7.81	$ 8.48	$ 8.30
Antidilutive options excluded from computation of earnings per share									1.5	1.7	0.1