Basis of Presentation (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified		3 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013 item	Jun. 30, 2012 Correction for a tax item related to securities lending activities
Basis of Presentation
Number of wholly owned subsidiaries	2
Reclassifications of prior period amounts
Decrease to net income resulting from prior period adjustments		$ 32

Represents the decrease to net income resulting from an out-of-period correction for a tax item.

No definition available.

Name:	rsl_DecreaseFromOutOfPeriodCorrectionForTaxItem
Namespace Prefix:	rsl_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration