Goodwill (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Goodwill [Line Items]
Acquisitions	$ 1,141,000,000	$ 1,000,000	$ 39,000,000
Goodwill	10,542,000,000	9,953,000,000	11,935,000,000	11,781,000,000
Impairments	0	(1,868,000,000)	0
Parent Company [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Impairments	0	(1,384,000,000)	0
Japan [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill	4,700,000,000	5,200,000,000	5,400,000,000
Retail [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Acquisitions	0	0	0
Goodwill	1,433,000,000	1,433,000,000	3,125,000,000	3,125,000,000
Impairments		(1,692,000,000)	0
Goodwill impairment testing attributed to reportable segments		34,000,000
Reduction of accumulated impairment	0
Group, Voluntary & Worksite Benefits [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Acquisitions	0	0	0
Goodwill	138,000,000	138,000,000	138,000,000	138,000,000
Impairments		0	0
Goodwill impairment testing attributed to reportable segments		9,000,000
Reduction of accumulated impairment	0
Corporate Benefit Funding [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Acquisitions	0	0	0
Goodwill	900,000,000	900,000,000	900,000,000	900,000,000
Impairments		0	0
Goodwill impairment testing attributed to reportable segments		186,000,000
Reduction of accumulated impairment	0
Asia Segment [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Acquisitions	0	0	39,000,000
Goodwill	4,898,000,000	5,387,000,000	5,533,000,000	72,000,000
Impairments		0	0
Reduction of accumulated impairment	0
Corporate and Other [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Acquisitions	0	0	0
Goodwill	229,000,000	229,000,000	405,000,000	470,000,000
Impairments		(176,000,000)	(65,000,000)
Reduction of accumulated impairment	65,000,000
Retail Segment, Annuities Reporting Unit [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill impairment, net of income tax		(1,600,000,000)
MetLife Bank [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Reduction of accumulated impairment	$ 65,000,000