Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Income Tax Expense

The components of income taxes for the years ended December 31 were as follows:

(In millions)	2021		2020		2019
Current taxes
U.S. income taxes	$	1,268	$	2,128	$	1,476
Foreign income taxes	207		334		173
State income taxes	112		303		114
Total current taxes	1,587		2,765		1,763
Deferred taxes (benefits)
U.S. income taxes (benefits)	(167)		(217)		(236)
Foreign income taxes	69		11		16
State income tax (benefits)	(122)		(180)		(93)
Total deferred taxes (benefits)	(220)		(386)		(313)
Total income taxes	$	1,367	$	2,379	$	1,450

Reconciliation of Total Income Taxes to the Amount Computed Using the Nominal Federal Income Tax Rate

Total income taxes for the years ended December 31 were different from the amount computed using the nominal federal income tax rate for the following reasons:

	2021				2020				2019
(In millions)	$		%		$		%		$		%
Tax expense at nominal rate	$	1,424	21.0	%	$	2,282	21.0	%	$	1,380	21.0	%
Impact of sale of business	—		—		104		1.0		—		—
Effect of foreign earnings	(33)		(0.5)		(61)		(0.6)		24		0.4
Health insurance industry tax	—		—		93		0.9		—		—
State income tax (net of federal income tax benefit)	(9)		(0.1)		24		0.2		32		0.5
Other	(15)		(0.2)		(63)		(0.6)		14		0.2
Total income taxes	$	1,367	20.2	%	$	2,379	21.9	%	$	1,450	22.1	%

Deferred Income Tax Assets and Liabilities

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, were as follows:

(In millions)	2021		2020
Deferred tax assets
Employee and retiree benefit plans	$	304	$	477
Other insurance and contractholder liabilities	263		278
Loss carryforwards	278		177
Other accrued liabilities	412		358
Other	245		209
Deferred tax assets before valuation allowance	1,503		1,499
Valuation allowance for deferred tax assets	(246)		(207)
Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance	1,257		1,292
Deferred tax liabilities
Depreciation and amortization	698		660
Acquisition-related basis differences	8,726		8,989
Policy acquisition expenses	312		289
Unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency translation	104		171
Other	212		122
Total deferred tax liabilities	10,052		10,231
Net deferred income tax (liabilities)	(8,795)
Net deferred income tax (liabilities) assets classified as Liabilities of businesses held for sale	(449)
Net deferred income tax (liabilities) assets per Consolidated Balance Sheets	$	(8,346)	$	(8,939)

Reconciliations of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

Reconciliations of unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31 were as follows:

(In millions)	2021		2020		2019
Balance at January 1,	$	1,210	$	1,018	$	928
Increase due to prior year positions	21		128		68
Increase due to current year positions	31		88		29
Reduction related to settlements with taxing authorities	(15)		—		—
Reduction related to lapse of applicable statute of limitations	(17)		(24)		(7)
Balance at December 31,	$	1,230	$	1,210	$	1,018