Investments (Details 2) (Ameriprise Financial, USD $)	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Fixed maturity securities percentage of total investments	85.00%	85.00%
Investments rated internally	$ 1,500,000,000	$ 1,700,000,000
Amortized Cost	28,271,000,000	28,503,000,000
Fair Value	30,003,000,000	31,459,000,000
Percent of Total Fair Value	100.00%	100.00%
GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC mortgage backed securities, percentage of securities rated AAA	38.00%	35.00%
Holdings of Issuer Other Than GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC as Percentage of Shareholders Equity Maximum	10.00%
AAA
Amortized Cost	7,211,000,000	7,462,000,000
Fair Value	7,501,000,000	8,021,000,000
Percent of Total Fair Value	25.00%	26.00%
AA
Amortized Cost	1,720,000,000	1,620,000,000
Fair Value	1,871,000,000	1,827,000,000
Percent of Total Fair Value	6.00%	6.00%
A
Amortized Cost	5,642,000,000	5,456,000,000
Fair Value	6,042,000,000	6,069,000,000
Percent of Total Fair Value	20.00%	19.00%
BBB
Amortized Cost	11,663,000,000	11,939,000,000
Fair Value	12,632,000,000	13,575,000,000
Percent of Total Fair Value	42.00%	43.00%
Below investment grade
Amortized Cost	2,035,000,000	2,026,000,000
Fair Value	$ 1,957,000,000	$ 1,967,000,000
Percent of Total Fair Value	7.00%	6.00%