Policyholder Account Balances - LTDI Rollforward (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2023	Mar. 31, 2022
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	$ 210,597
Balance, end of period	212,569
Group Insurance Policy | U.S.
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	8,028	$ 7,893
Deposits	851	947
Policy charges	(160)	(150)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(799)	(683)
Benefit payments	(1)	(4)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	1	0
Interest credited	45	31
Balance, end of period	$ 7,965	$ 8,034
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	2.30%	1.60%
Cash surrender value	$ 7,904	$ 7,980
Group Insurance Policy | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | U.S.
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	249,463	240,610
CapitalMarketsInvestmentProductsandStableValueGICs | U.S.
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	63,723	62,521
Deposits	21,234	23,521
Surrenders and withdrawals	(22,590)	(19,935)
Interest credited	460	227
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	457	(169)
Balance, end of period	$ 63,284	$ 66,165
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	2.90%	1.40%
Cash surrender value	$ 2,074	$ 2,227
Annuities and Risk Solutions | U.S.
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	15,549	14,431
Deposits	629	206
Policy charges	(47)	(45)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(39)	(39)
Benefit payments	(191)	(186)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	55	(27)
Interest credited	151	129
Other	21	(84)
Balance, end of period	$ 16,128	$ 14,385
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.80%	3.60%
Cash surrender value	$ 7,592	$ 6,527
Annuities and Risk Solutions | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | U.S.
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	41,924	39,755
Universal And Variable Life Contracts [Member] | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	46,417	46,590
Deposits	1,070	1,771
Policy charges	(242)	(311)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(517)	(391)
Benefit payments	(149)	(122)
Interest credited	344	254
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	(153)	(836)
Balance, end of period	$ 46,770	$ 46,955
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.00%	2.20%
Cash surrender value	$ 40,028	$ 42,960
Universal And Variable Life Contracts [Member] | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	94,001	102,751
Fixed Annuity | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	32,454	30,976
Deposits	2,733	1,087
Policy charges	(1)	0
Surrenders and withdrawals	(445)	(498)
Benefit payments	(545)	(533)
Interest credited	191	149
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	(115)	296
Balance, end of period	$ 34,272	$ 31,477
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	2.30%	1.90%
Cash surrender value	$ 29,162	$ 29,292
Fixed Annuity | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	13,286	14,398
Deposits	41	66
Policy charges	(4)	(4)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(531)	(323)
Benefit payments	(119)	(111)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	35	66
Interest credited	100	101
Other	10	(11)
Balance, end of period	$ 12,818	$ 14,182
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.10%	2.90%
Cash surrender value	$ 11,981	$ 13,090
Fixed Annuity | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | Asia
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	0	17
Fixed Annuity | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	3,600	2,003
Fixed Annuity | Annuitization Benefit [Member] | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	831	755
Variable Annuity [Member] | EMEA
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	2,802	4,215
Deposits	1	2
Policy charges	(16)	(22)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(65)	(107)
Benefit payments	(31)	(35)
Interest credited	77	(175)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other, net	77	(109)
Balance, end of period	$ 2,845	$ 3,769
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	11.60%	(16.10%)
Cash surrender value	$ 2,845	$ 3,769
Variable Annuity [Member] | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | EMEA
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	565	265
Variable Annuity [Member] | Annuitization Benefit [Member] | EMEA
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	713	383
Life and Other | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of period	12,402	12,699
Deposits	226	276
Policy charges	(179)	(181)
Surrenders and withdrawals	(287)	(182)
Benefit payments	(47)	(55)
Net transfers from (to) separate accounts	6	8
Interest credited	113	115
Other	0	(4)
Balance, end of period	$ 12,234	$ 12,676
Weighted-average annual crediting rate	3.70%	3.60%
Cash surrender value	$ 11,731	$ 12,147
Life and Other | Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit [Member] | MetLife Holdings
Policyholder Account Balance [Roll Forward]
Net amount at risk	$ 70,483	$ 73,301