Other Expenses

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

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,
	2017			2016			2017			2016
	(In millions)
Compensation	$	1,107		$	1,100		$	3,302		$	3,602
Pension, postretirement and postemployment benefit costs	86			78			242			308
Commissions	888			859			2,544			2,700
Volume-related costs	113			91			285			384
Capitalization of DAC	(761		)	(770		)	(2,218		)	(2,422		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	626			660			1,945			2,052
Amortization of negative VOBA	(32		)	(55		)	(113		)	(221		)
Interest expense on debt	284			280			851			875
Premium taxes, licenses and fees	145			174			467			544
Professional services	389			372			1,119			1,099
Rent and related expenses, net of sublease income	121			91			265			285
Other	352			336			1,215			1,090
Total other expenses	$	3,318		$	3,216		$	9,904		$	10,296

See Note 3 for further information on Separation-related transaction costs.

Restructuring Charges

The Company commenced in 2016 a unit cost improvement program related to the Company’s refreshed enterprise strategy. This global strategy focuses on transforming the Company to become more digital, driving efficiencies and innovation to achieve competitive advantage, and simplified, decreasing the costs and risks associated with the Company’s highly complex industry to customers and shareholders. Restructuring charges related to this program are included in other expenses. As the expenses relate to an enterprise-wide initiative, they are reported in Corporate & Other. Such restructuring charges were as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30, 2017			Nine Months Ended September 30, 2017
	Severance
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	17		$	35
Restructuring charges	3			25
Cash payments	(3		)	(43		)
Balance, end of period	$	17		$	17
Total restructuring charges incurred since inception of initiative	$	60		$	60

Management anticipates further restructuring charges through the year ending December 31, 2019. However, such restructuring plans were not sufficiently developed to enable management to make an estimate of such restructuring charges at September 30, 2017.