Other Expenses

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Other Expenses

11. Other Expenses

Information on other expenses was as follows:

	Three Months   Ended   September 30,						Nine Months   Ended   September 30,
	2014			2013			2014			2013
	(In millions)
Compensation	$	1,221		$	1,310		$	3,636		$	3,828
Pension, postretirement and postemployment benefit costs	131			122			368			367
Commissions	1,294			1,309			3,884			4,084
Volume-related costs	227			239			639			618
Capitalization of DAC	(1,071		)	(1,153		)	(3,149		)	(3,621		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	1,054			841			3,174			2,623
Amortization of negative VOBA	(107		)	(126		)	(333		)	(410		)
Interest expense on debt	295			317			919			959
Premium taxes, licenses and fees	192			173			612			498
Professional services	348			349			1,035			976
Rent and related expenses, net of sublease income	95			89			273			283
Other	539			507			1,545			1,935
Total other expenses	$	4,218		$	3,977		$	12,603		$	12,140

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   September 30,
	2014									2013
	Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment			Total			Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment			Total
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	16		$	7		$	23		$	12		$	9		$	21
Restructuring charges	20			2			22			14			2			16
Cash payments	(22		)	(2		)	(24		)	(13		)	(4		)	(17		)
Balance, end of period	$	14		$	7		$	21		$	13		$	7		$	20

	Nine Months   Ended   September 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	46			7			53			51			14			65
Cash payments	(72		)	(6		)	(78		)	(61		)	(7		)	(68		)
Balance, end of period	$	14		$	7		$	21		$	13		$	7		$	20
Total restructuring charges incurred since inception of initiative	$	287		$	41		$	328		$	192		$	32		$	224

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 September 30, 2014.