Other Expenses

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Other Expenses

11. Other Expenses

Information on other expenses was as follows:

	Three Months   Ended   June 30,						Six Months   Ended   June 30,
	2014			2013			2014			2013
	(In millions)
Compensation	$	1,210		$	1,227		$	2,415		$	2,518
Pension, postretirement and postemployment benefit costs	117			122			237			245
Commissions	1,302			1,387			2,590			2,775
Volume-related costs	211			196			412			379
Capitalization of DAC	(1,032		)	(1,212		)	(2,078		)	(2,468		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	1,062			958			2,120			1,782
Amortization of negative VOBA	(111		)	(138		)	(226		)	(284		)
Interest expense on debt	312			321			624			642
Premium taxes, licenses and fees	195			166			420			325
Professional services	366			324			687			627
Rent and related expenses, net of sublease income	93			101			178			194
Other	497			573			1,006			1,428
Total other expenses	$	4,222		$	4,025		$	8,385		$	8,163

Restructuring Charges

The Company commenced in 2012 an enterprise-wide strategic initiative. This global strategy focuses on leveraging the Company’s scale to improve the value it provides to customers and shareholders in order to reduce costs, enhance revenues, achieve efficiencies and reinvest in its technology, platforms and functionality to improve its current operations and develop new capabilities. These restructuring charges are included in other expenses. As the expenses relate to an enterprise-wide initiative, they are reported in Corporate & Other. Estimated restructuring costs may change as management continues to execute this enterprise-wide strategic initiative. Such restructuring charges were as follows:

	Three Months   Ended   June 30,
	2014									2013
	Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment			Total			Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment		Total
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	24		$	5		$	29		$	20		$	—	$	20
Restructuring charges	14			4			18			7			9		16
Cash payments	(22		)	(2		)	(24		)	(15		)	—		(15		)
Balance, end of period	$	16		$	7		$	23		$	12		$	9	$	21

	Six Months   Ended   June 30,
	2014									2013
	Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment			Total			Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment			Total
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	40		$	6		$	46		$	23		$	—		$	23
Restructuring charges	26			5			31			37			12			49
Cash payments	(50		)	(4		)	(54		)	(48		)	(3		)	(51		)
Balance, end of period	$	16		$	7		$	23		$	12		$	9		$	21
Total restructuring charges incurred since inception of initiative	$	267		$	39		$	306		$	178		$	30		$	208

Management anticipates further restructuring charges including severance, as well as lease and asset impairments, through the year ending December 31, 2016. However, such restructuring plans were not sufficiently developed to enable management to make an estimate of such restructuring charges at June 30, 2014.