Deferred Policy Acquisition Costs, Value of Business Acquired and Unearned Revenue - Unearned Revenue (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2024	Sep. 30, 2023
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	$ 4,537	$ 4,106
Deferrals	620	699
Amortization	(314)	(284)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	(130)	40
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	4,713	4,561
RIS
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	31	36
Deferrals	1	2
Amortization	(4)	(5)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	0	0
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	28	33
Asia
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	2,850	2,382
Deferrals	424	477
Amortization	(167)	(129)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	(9)	(49)
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	3,098	2,681
Latin America
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	989	848
Deferrals	111	108
Amortization	(88)	(87)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	(124)	85
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	888	954
EMEA
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	608	559
Deferrals	72	71
Amortization	(51)	(47)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	3	4
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	632	587
MetLife Holdings
Unearned Revenue [Roll Forward]
Deferred Revenue, Current, Beginning Balance	59	281
Deferrals	12	41
Amortization	(4)	(16)
Effect of foreign currency translation and other - net	0	0
Deferred Revenue, Current, Ending Balance	$ 67	$ 306