Other Expenses (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2018

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Other Expenses

Information on other expenses was as follows:

	Three Months Ended June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2018			2017			2018			2017
	(In millions)
Employee related costs	$	894		$	879		$	1,831		$	1,816
Third party staffing costs	402			398			782			760
General and administrative expenses	351			318			594			539
Pension, postretirement and postemployment benefit costs	47			76			96			155
Premium taxes, other taxes, and licenses & fees	187			148			366			323
Commissions and other variable expenses	1,438			1,306			2,854			2,610
Capitalization of DAC	(834		)	(744		)	(1,630		)	(1,457		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	707			656			1,400			1,319
Amortization of negative VOBA	(16		)	(38		)	(38		)	(81		)
Interest expense on debt	309			284			595			567
Total other expenses	$	3,485		$	3,283		$	6,850		$	6,551

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation, which has been revised to align the expense categories with the Company’s businesses. The reclassifications did not result in a change to total other expenses.

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 June 30,						Six Months Ended June 30,
	2018			2017			2018			2017
	Severance
	(In millions)
Balance, beginning of period	$	19		$	38		$	22		$	35
Restructuring charges	9			11			18			22
Cash payments	(8		)	(32		)	(20		)	(40		)
Balance, end of period	$	20		$	17		$	20		$	17
Total restructuring charges incurred since inception of initiative	$	91		$	57		$	91		$	57