Investments (EITF info) (Details 5) - Ameriprise Financial [Member] $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($) Positions	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) Positions
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	802	434
12 months or more | Positions	316	337
Total | Positions	1,118	771
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 10,229	$ 5,312
12 months or more	3,137	3,381
Total	13,366	8,693
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(174)	(34)
12 months or more	(134)	(92)
Total	$ (308)	$ (126)
Corporate debt securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	282	150
12 months or more | Positions	64	70
Total | Positions	346	220
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 4,289	$ 1,791
12 months or more	656	740
Total	4,945	2,531
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(63)	(8)
12 months or more	(37)	(24)
Total	$ (100)	$ (32)
Residential mortgage backed securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	163	102
12 months or more | Positions	127	130
Total | Positions	290	232
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 2,716	$ 1,772
12 months or more	1,373	1,467
Total	4,089	3,239
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(38)	(11)
12 months or more	(42)	(26)
Total	$ (80)	$ (37)
Commercial mortgage backed securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	127	67
12 months or more | Positions	57	58
Total | Positions	184	125
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 2,272	$ 1,178
12 months or more	749	783
Total	3,021	1,961
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(60)	(12)
12 months or more	(40)	(24)
Total	$ (100)	$ (36)
Asset backed securities [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	43	36
12 months or more | Positions	22	26
Total | Positions	65	62
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 531	$ 424
12 months or more	158	187
Total	689	611
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(6)	(2)
12 months or more	(3)	(3)
Total	$ (9)	$ (5)
State and municipal obligations [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	174	76
12 months or more | Positions	34	34
Total | Positions	208	110
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 375	$ 141
12 months or more	182	180
Total	557	321
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(6)	(1)
12 months or more	(8)	(10)
Total	$ (14)	$ (11)
Foreign government bonds and obligations [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions	13	3
12 months or more | Positions	12	15
Total | Positions	25	18
Fair Value
Less than 12 months	$ 46	$ 6
12 months or more	19	23
Total	65	29
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months	(1)	0
12 months or more	(4)	(4)
Total	$ (5)	$ (4)
Common stocks [Member]
Number of securities
Less than 12 months | Positions		0
12 months or more | Positions		4
Total | Positions		4
Fair Value
Less than 12 months		$ 0
12 months or more		1
Total		1
Unrealized losses
Less than 12 months		0
12 months or more		(1)
Total		$ (1)