Other Revenues and Other Expenses

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Other Income and Expenses [Abstract]

Other Expenses

16. Other Revenues and Other Expenses

Other Revenues

Information on other revenues, which primarily includes fees related to service contracts from customers, was as follows:

	Year Ended
	December 31, 2018
	(In millions)
Prepaid legal plans	$	296
Fee-based investment management	293
Recordkeeping and administrative services (1)	221
Administrative services-only contracts	205
Other revenue from service contracts from customers	241
Total revenues from service contracts from customers	$	1,256
Other	624
Total other revenues	$	1,880

(1) Related to products and businesses no longer actively marketed by the Company.

Other Expenses

Information on other expenses was as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
	(In millions)
Employee related costs	$	3,664		$	3,595		$	3,840
Third party staffing costs	1,703			1,693			1,619
General and administrative expenses	910			1,129			1,007
Pension, postretirement and postemployment benefit costs	185			307			400
Premium taxes, other taxes, and licenses & fees	758			842			688
Commissions and other variable expenses	5,707			5,387			5,741
Capitalization of DAC	(3,254		)	(3,002		)	(3,152		)
Amortization of DAC and VOBA	2,975			2,681			2,718
Amortization of negative VOBA	(56		)	(140		)	(269		)
Interest expense on debt	1,122			1,129			1,157
Total other expenses	$	13,714		$	13,621		$	13,749

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

Capitalization of DAC and Amortization of DAC and VOBA

See Note 5 for additional information on DAC and VOBA including impacts of capitalization and amortization. See also Note 7 for a description of the DAC amortization impact associated with the closed block.

Expenses related to Debt

See Notes 12, 13, and 14 for attribution of interest expense by debt issuance and other expenses related to debt transactions.

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:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2018			2017			2016
	Severance
	(In millions)
Balance at January 1,	$	22		$	35		$	—
Restructuring charges	63			38			35
Cash payments	(62		)	(51		)	—
Balance at December 31,	$	23		$	22		$	35
Total restructuring charges incurred since inception of initiative	$	136		$	73		$	35

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 December 31, 2018.

In 2016, the Company completed a previous enterprise-wide strategic initiative. These restructuring charges were included in other expenses. As the expenses related to an enterprise-wide initiative, they were reported in Corporate & Other. Information regarding such restructuring charges was as follows:

	Year Ended December 31, 2016
	Severance			Lease and Asset Impairment			Total
	(In millions)
Balance at January 1,	$	18		$	4		$	22
Restructuring charges	—			1			1
Cash payments	(17		)	(4		)	(21		)
Balance at December 31,	$	1		$	1		$	2
Total restructuring charges incurred since inception of initiative	$	383		$	47		$	430