Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs, Value of Business Acquired and Unearned Revenue - Unearned Revenue (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2024	Mar. 31, 2023
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	$ 4,537	$ 4,106
Deferrals	218	176
Amortization	(102)	(91)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	(41)	59
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	4,612	4,250
RIS
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	31	36
Deferrals	1	1
Amortization	(2)	(2)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	0	0
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	30	35
Asia
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	2,850	2,382
Deferrals	152	105
Amortization	(52)	(40)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	(31)	(16)
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	2,919	2,431
Latin America
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	989	848
Deferrals	37	33
Amortization	(30)	(28)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	4	67
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	1,000	920
EMEA
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	608	559
Deferrals	25	23
Amortization	(17)	(15)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	(14)	8
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	602	575
MetLife Holdings
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	59	281
Deferrals	3	14
Amortization	(1)	(6)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	0	0
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	$ 61	$ 289