Investments (Holdings info) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Held-to-maturity Securities [Member]
Certificates of Deposit, at Carrying Value	$ 26	$ 7
Ameriprise Financial [Member]
Investments	33,463	35,825
Ameriprise Financial [Member] \| Available-for-sale securities [Member]
Investments	28,764	31,058
Ameriprise Financial [Member] \| Mortgage loans, net [Member]
Investments	2,644	2,696
Ameriprise Financial [Member] \| Policy and certificate loans [Member]
Investments	854	861
Ameriprise Financial [Member] \| Other investments [Member]
Investments	$ 1,201	$ 1,210

A savings certificate entitling the Entity (that is, bearer) to receive interest at an established maturity date, based upon a fixed interest rate. A certificate of deposit may be issued in any denomination. Certificates of deposit are generally issued by commercial banks and, therefore, insured by the FDIC (up to the prescribed limit). Certificates of deposit generally restrict holders from withdrawing funds on demand without the incurrence of penalties. Generally, only certificates of deposit with original maturities of three months or less qualify as cash equivalents. Original maturity means original maturity to the entity holding the investment. As a related example, both a three-month US Treasury bill and a three-year Treasury note purchased three months from maturity qualify as cash equivalents. However, a Treasury note purchased three-years ago does not become a cash equivalent when its remaining maturity is three months.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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