Regulatory Requirements (Details) (USD $)		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 Subsidiaries of entity subsidiary	Dec. 31, 2012 RiverSource Life	Dec. 31, 2011 RiverSource Life	Dec. 31, 2010 RiverSource Life	Dec. 31, 2012 Ameriprise Certificate Company	Dec. 31, 2011 Ameriprise Certificate Company	Mar. 02, 2009 Ameriprise Certificate Company
Regulatory Requirements [Line Items]
Aggregate amount of unrestricted net assets	$ 2,100,000,000
Period of dividend or distributions		12 months
Percentage of previous year-end statutory capital and surplus (as a percent)		10.00%
Government debt securities on deposit with states under legal requirements		6,000,000	7,000,000
Statutory capital and surplus		3,100,000,000	2,700,000,000	3,700,000,000
Requirement of qualified assets under Investment Company Act of 1940					3,500,000,000	2,800,000,000
Actual amount of qualified assets					3,700,000,000	2,900,000,000
Maximum commitment by entity to Ameriprise Certificate Company under Capital Support Agreement							$ 115,000,000
Number of broker-dealer subsidiaries	4