Equity

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2017

Equity [Abstract]

Equity

9. Equity

Preferred Stock

Preferred stock authorized, issued and outstanding was as follows at both March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:

Series	Shares Authorized	Shares Issued	Shares Outstanding
Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A	27,600,000	24,000,000	24,000,000
5.25% Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series C	1,500,000	1,500,000	1,500,000
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock	10,000,000	—	—
Not designated	160,900,000	—	—
Total	200,000,000	25,500,000	25,500,000

Common Stock

Duringthethree months endedMarch 31, 2017and2016, MetLife, Inc. repurchased 16,038,791 and 1,445,864 shares through open market purchases for $858 million and $70 million, respectively.

At March 31, 2017, MetLife, Inc. had $1.8 billion remaining under the common stock repurchase authorization. Common stock repurchases are dependent upon several factors, including the Company’s capital position, liquidity, financial strength and credit ratings, general market conditions, the market price of MetLife, Inc.’s common stock compared to management’s assessment of the stock’s underlying value and applicable regulatory approvals, as well as other legal and accounting factors.

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

Performance Shares and Performance Units

Awards under the MetLife, Inc. 2005 Stock and Incentive Compensation Plan and the MetLife, Inc. 2015 Stock and Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2015 Stock Plan”) were outstanding at March 31, 2017. All awards granted in 2015 or later were granted under the 2015 Stock Plan.

For Performance Share and Performance Unit awards outstanding as ofMarch 31, 2017, any vested Performance Shares and Performance Units will be multiplied by a performance factor of0%to175%. Assuming that MetLife, Inc. has met threshold performance goals related to its adjusted income or total shareholder return, the MetLife, Inc. Compensation Committee will determine the performance factor in its discretion. In doing so, the Compensation Committee may consider MetLife, Inc.’s total shareholder return relative to the performance of its competitors andoperating return on MetLife, Inc.’s common stockholders’ equity relative to its financial plan. MetLife estimates the fair value of Performance Shares each quarter until they become payable.

Payout of 2014 – 2016 Performance Shares and Performance Units

Final Performance Shares are paid in shares of MetLife, Inc. common stock. Final Performance Units are payable in cash equal to the closing price of MetLife, Inc. common stock on a date following the last day of the three-year performance period. The performance factor for the January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2016 performance period was 44.4%. This factor has been applied to the 1,066,076 Performance Shares and 165,587 Performance Units associated with that performance period that vested on December 31, 2016. As a result, in the first quarter of 2017, MetLife, Inc. issued 473,338 shares of its common stock (less withholding for taxes and other items, as applicable), excluding shares that payees choose to defer, and MetLife, Inc. or its affiliates paid the cash value of 73,521 Performance Units (less withholding for taxes and other items, as applicable).

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Information regarding changes in the balances of each component of AOCI attributable to MetLife, Inc., was as follows:

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
	Unrealized Investment Gains (Losses), Net of Related Offsets (1)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Derivatives			Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments			Defined Benefit Plans Adjustment			Total
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	10,766		$	1,865		$	(5,312	)	$	(1,972	)	$	5,347
OCI before reclassifications	733			210			348			(20		)	1,271
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	(284		)	(73		)	122			2			(233		)
AOCI before reclassifications, net of income tax	11,215			2,002			(4,842		)	(1,990		)	6,385
Amounts reclassified from AOCI	196			(229		)	—			44			11
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	(75		)	80			—			(5		)	—
Amounts reclassified from AOCI, net of income tax	121			(149		)	—			39			11
Balance, end of period	$	11,336		$	1,853		$	(4,842	)	$	(1,951	)	$	6,396
	Three Months Ended March 31, 2016
	Unrealized Investment Gains (Losses), Net of Related Offsets (1)			Unrealized Gains (Losses) on Derivatives			Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments			Defined Benefit Plans Adjustment			Total
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	10,315		$	1,458		$	(4,950	)	$	(2,052	)	$	4,771
OCI before reclassifications	7,670			696			551			—			8,917
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	(2,549		)	(199		)	117			—			(2,631		)
AOCI before reclassifications, net of income tax	15,436			1,955			(4,282		)	(2,052		)	11,057
Amounts reclassified from AOCI	17			(323		)	—			48			(258		)
Deferred income tax benefit (expense)	(7		)	93			—			(20		)	66
Amounts reclassified from AOCI, net of income tax	10			(230		)	—			28			(192		)
Balance, end of period	$	15,446		$	1,725		$	(4,282	)	$	(2,024	)	$	10,865

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(1) See Note 5 for information on offsets to investments related to future policy benefits, DAC, VOBA and DSI, and the policyholder dividend obligation.

Information regarding amounts reclassified out of each component of AOCI was as follows:

AOCI Components	Amounts Reclassified from AOCI						Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) Locations
	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2017			2016
	(In millions)
Net unrealized investment gains (losses):
Net unrealized investment gains (losses)	$	(8	)	$	(33	)	Net investment gains (losses)
Net unrealized investment gains (losses)	7			3			Net investment income
Net unrealized investment gains (losses)	(195		)	13			Net derivative gains (losses)
Net unrealized investment gains (losses), before income tax	(196		)	(17		)
Income tax (expense) benefit	75			7
Net unrealized investment gains (losses), net of income tax	(121		)	(10		)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivatives - cash flow hedges:
Interest rate swaps	8			10			Net derivative gains (losses)
Interest rate swaps	5			3			Net investment income
Interest rate forwards	(4		)	2			Net derivative gains (losses)
Interest rate forwards	1			1			Net investment income
Foreign currency swaps	218			306			Net derivative gains (losses)
Foreign currency swaps	1			1			Other expenses
Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges, before income tax	229			323
Income tax (expense) benefit	(80		)	(93		)
Gains (losses) on cash flow hedges, net of income tax	149			230
Defined benefit plans adjustment: (1)
Amortization of net actuarial gains (losses)	(49		)	(51		)
Amortization of prior service (costs) credit	5			3
Amortization of defined benefit plan items, before income tax	(44		)	(48		)
Income tax (expense) benefit	5			20
Amortization of defined benefit plan items, net of income tax	(39		)	(28		)
Total reclassifications, net of income tax	$	(11	)	$	192

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(1) These AOCI components are included in the computation of net periodic benefit costs. See Note 11.