Employee Benefit Plans

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Employee Benefit Plans [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

13. Employee Benefit Plans

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

Certain subsidiaries of MetLife, Inc. (the “Subsidiaries”) sponsor and/or administer various qualified and non-qualified defined benefit pension plans and other postretirement employee benefit plans covering employees and sales representatives who meet specified eligibility requirements. The Subsidiaries also provide certain postemployment benefits and certain postretirement medical and life insurance benefits for retired employees. The Subsidiaries have issued group annuity and life insurance contracts supporting approximately 99% of all U.S. pension and other postretirement benefit plan assets, which are invested primarily in separate accounts sponsored by the Subsidiaries.

Measurement dates used for all of the Subsidiaries’ defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit plans correspond with the fiscal year ends of sponsoring Subsidiaries, which are December 31 for most Subsidiaries and November 30 for American Life.

The components of net periodic benefit costs were as follows:

	Pension Benefits											Other Postretirement Benefits
	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans					U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Three Months Ended September 30,						Three Months Ended September 30,					Three Months Ended September 30,						Three Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011		2012			2011			2012			2011
	(In millions)
Service costs	$	56		$	47		$	19		$	17	$	5		$	4		$	—		$	—
Interest costs		102			101			4			3		26			26			1			1
Expected return on plan assets		(121	)		(112	)		(1	)		—		(19	)		(19	)		(1	)		—
Amortization of net actuarial (gains) losses		48			49			—			—		15			11			1			—
Amortization of prior service costs (credit)		2			1			—			—		(26	)		(27	)		—			—
Net periodic benefit costs	$	87		$	86		$	22		$	20	$	1		$	(5	)	$	1		$	1

	Pension Benefits												Other Postretirement Benefits
	U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans						U.S. Plans						Non-U.S. Plans
	Nine Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2012			2011			2012			2011			2012			2011			2012			2011
	(In millions)
Service costs	$	168		$	141		$	55		$	49		$	16		$	12		$	1		$	1
Interest costs		305			303			13			11			77			79			2			2
Expected return on plan assets		(363	)		(336	)		(5	)		(3	)		(57	)		(57	)		(1	)		(1	)
Amortization of net actuarial (gains) losses		146			146			—			—			43			32			1			—
Amortization of prior service costs (credit)		5			3			—			—			(78	)		(81	)		—			—
Net periodic benefit costs	$	261		$	257		$	63		$	57		$	1		$	(15	)	$	3		$	2

As disclosed in Note 17 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the 2011 Annual Report, no contributions are required to be made to the Subsidiaries’ U.S. qualified pension plans during 2012; however, during the third quarter of 2012, $405 million of discretionary contributions were made by the Subsidiaries to those plans.