Federal Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2021
Federal Income Taxes [Abstract]
Federal Income Taxes	6. Federal Income Taxes The federal income tax expense (benefit) on continuing operations (in millions) was as follows: For the Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Current$ 20 $ (59)$ 175 Deferred 273 3 (212)Federal income tax expense (benefit)$ 293 $ (56)$ (37) A reconciliation of the effective tax rate differences (in millions) was as follows: For the Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 2019 Income (loss) before taxes$ 1,922 $ 535 $ 577 Federal statutory rate 21% 21% 21% Federal income tax expense (benefit) at federal statutory rate 404 112 121 Effect of: Tax-preferred investment income (1) (88) (98) (99)Tax credits (26) (39) (40)Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation - 2 (6)Tax impact associated with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2) - (37) (16)Other items 3 4 3 Federal income tax expense (benefit)$ 293 $ (56)$ (37)Effective tax rate 15% -10% -6% (1)Relates primarily to separate account dividends eligible for the dividends-received deduction. (2)In 2019, we recognized a $16 million tax benefit from the impact of the reduced corporate tax rate under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) on our election to revalue policyholder tax reserves. In 2020, we recognized a $37 million tax benefit attributable to the carry back of a 2020 net operating loss under the provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which provides for a five-year carryback period. The federal income tax asset (liability) (in millions) was as follows: As of December 31, 2021 2020 Current$ 382 $ 381 Deferred (3,022) (3,422)Total federal income tax asset (liability)$ (2,640)$ (3,041) Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities (in millions) were as follows: As of December 31, 2021 2020 Deferred Tax Assets Future contract benefits and other contract holder funds$ 3,381 $ 2,262 Reinsurance related embedded derivative asset 121 113 Compensation and benefit plans 180 163 Intangibles 25 27 Net operating losses 292 218 Other 103 5 Total deferred tax assets$ 4,102 $ 2,788 Deferred Tax Liabilities DAC$ 433 $ 418 VOBA 147 165 Net unrealized gain on fixed maturity AFS securities 2,754 3,836 Net unrealized gain on trading securities 64 88 Investment activity 3,423 1,299 Other 303 404 Total deferred tax liabilities$ 7,124 $ 6,210 Net deferred tax asset (liability)$ (3,022)$ (3,422) As of December 31, 2021, we have $1.4 billion of net operating losses to carry forward to future years. The net operating losses arose in tax years 2018 and 2021, and under the Tax Act changes, have an unlimited carryforward period. As a result, management believes that it is more likely than not that the deferred tax asset associated with the loss carryforwards will be realized. Inclusive of the tax attribute for the net operating losses, although realization is not assured, management believes that it is more likely than not that we will realize the benefits of all our deferred tax assets, and, accordingly, no valuation allowance has been recorded. We are subject to examination by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. income authorities. With few exceptions for limited scope review, we are no longer subject to U.S. federal examinations for years before 2018. In the first quarter of 2021, the Internal Revenue Service commenced an examination of our refund claims for 2014 and 2015 that is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2022. We are currently under examination by several state and local taxing jurisdictions; however, we do not expect these examinations will materially impact us. A reconciliation of the unrecognized tax benefits (in millions) was as follows: For the Years Ended December 31, 2021 2020 Balance as of beginning-of-year$ 43 $ 41 Increases for prior year tax positions 2 2 Balance as of end-of-year$ 45 $ 43 As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, $45 million and $43 million, respectively, of our unrecognized tax benefits presented above, if recognized, would have affected our federal income tax expense (benefit) and our effective tax rate. We anticipate that it is reasonably possible that unrecognized tax benefits associated with separate account dividends-received deduction and tax credits will decrease by $8 million by the end of 2022, upon the completion of the examination of our refund claims for 2014 and 2015. We recognize interest and penalties accrued, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of tax expense. For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we recognized no interest and penalty expense (benefit), and there was no accrued interest and penalty expense related to the unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.