Contingencies, Commitments and Guarantees (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended								3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012 Commitments to Extend Credit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Commitments to Extend Credit [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Interest Rate Lock Commitments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Interest Rate Lock Commitments [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Mortgage Loan Commitments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Mortgage Loan Commitments [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Asbestos Related Claims [Member] Claims	Mar. 31, 2011 Asbestos Related Claims [Member] Claims	Dec. 31, 2011 Asbestos Related Claims [Member] Claims	Mar. 31, 2012 Merrill Haviland, et Al v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company [Member] Defendants	Mar. 31, 2012 Superfund Site Settlement Agreements [Member] Claims	Mar. 31, 2012 Total Asset Recovery Services, LLC Minnesota v. MetLife, Inc et Al [Member] Contracts	Mar. 31, 2012 Total Asset Recovery Services, LLC Illinois v. MetLife, Inc et Al [Member] Contracts	Mar. 31, 2012 Unclaimed Property [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Unclaimed Property [Member]
Loss Contingencies
After tax charge for the multistate examination payment and the expected acceleration of benefit payments to policyholders under settlements																$ 52,000,000
Asbestos-Related Claims									1,214	1,123	4,972
Number of regulatory matters and other claims													2
After tax charge to increase reserves in connection with identification of potential life insurance claims through database searches																	117,000,000
Multistate examination payment to be allocated among settling states																40,000,000
Damages Sought													less than $1 million and an additional amount
Damages Sought														228,000,000	1,600,000,000
Assumed average face amount of life insurance policies in lawsuit														130,000	110,000
Number of life insurance contracts named in legal action														584	4,766
Number of defendants												45
Loss contingency, estimate of possible loss													1,000,000
Fair Value, Off-balance Sheet Risks, Disclosure Information [Line Items]
Fair Value Disclosure, Off-balance Sheet Risks, Amount, Liability			1,500,000,000	1,400,000,000	184,000,000	5,600,000,000	4,300,000,000	4,100,000,000
Contingencies, Commitments and Guarantees (Textuals) [Abstract]
Number of years over which commitments will be invested in partnerships	5 years
Commitments to fund partnership investments	3,900,000,000	4,000,000,000
Liabilities for indemnities, guarantees and commitments	7,000,000	5,000,000
Additional liabilities for indemnities, guarantees and commitments	2,000,000
The approximate minimum amount of the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses in excess of amounts accrued for matters as to which an estimate can be made	0
The approximate maximum amount of the aggregate range of reasonably possible losses in excess of amounts accrued for matters as to which an estimate can be made	$ 125,000,000