Earnings per Common Share Earnings per Common Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Income (Loss) from continuing operations									$ 765	$ 491	$ (302)
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact									28	0	0
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest	$ 6	$ 19	$ 26	$ (1)	$ 57	$ 26	$ 62	$ 0	50	145	217
Income (loss) from continuing operations available to common shareholders									687	346	(519)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	(1,084)	(4)	42	(20)	29	(32)	92	440	(1,066)	529	(2,473)
Net income (loss) available to Voya Financial, Inc.	$ (772)	$ 121	$ 226	$ 74	$ 120	$ 142	$ 167	$ 446	$ (351)	$ 875	$ (2,992)
Basic (shares)									141.0	163.2	184.1
Diluted (shares)									147.0	168.2	184.1
Income (loss) from continuing operations available to Voya Financial, Inc.'s common shareholders	$ 2.29	$ 0.80	$ 1.27	$ 0.57	$ 0.60	$ 1.09	$ 0.45	$ 0.03	$ 4.88	$ 2.12	$ (2.82)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of taxes available to Voya Financial, Inc.'s common shareholders	(8.06)	(0.03)	0.29	(0.14)	0.18	(0.20)	0.55	2.56	(7.57)	3.24	(13.43)
Income (loss) available to Voya Financial, Inc.'s common shareholders	(5.76)	0.77	1.57	0.44	0.78	0.89	1.00	2.59	(2.69)	5.36	(16.25)
Income (loss) from continuing operations available to Voya Financial, Inc.'s common shareholders	2.17	0.77	1.22	0.56	0.58	1.06	0.43	0.03	4.68	2.05	(2.82)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of taxes available to Voya Financial, Inc.'s common shareholders	(7.62)	(0.03)	0.28	(0.13)	0.18	(0.19)	0.53	2.47	(7.26)	3.14	(13.43)
Income (loss) available to Voya Financial, Inc.'s common shareholders	$ (5.45)	$ 0.74	$ 1.51	$ 0.42	$ 0.76	$ 0.87	$ 0.96	$ 2.50	$ (2.58)	$ 5.20	$ (16.25)
Warrants
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Dilutive Effects (shares)										0.8	0.0
Restricted Share Units (RSUs)
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Dilutive Effects (shares)									1.4	1.7	0.0
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share											1.9
PSU awards
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Dilutive Effects (shares)									1.9	1.9	0.0
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share											0.8
Stock options
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Dilutive Effects (shares)									0.6	0.6	0.0
Warrants
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Dilutive Effects (shares)									2.1