Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities (Details 4) (Ameriprise Financial, USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Available-for-Sale Securities, at fair value
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation
Net Investment Income	$ 1	$ 56	$ 1	$ 77
Residential mortgage backed securities
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation
Net Investment Income		52		69
Asset backed securities
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation
Net Investment Income	1	4	1	8
Corporate debt securities
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation
Net Investment Income	(1)		(1)
Commercial mortgage backed securities
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation
Net Investment Income	1		1
GMWB and GMAB embedded derivatives
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation
Benefits, claims, losses and settlement expenses	$ 310	$ (1,241)	$ 544	$ (1,074)