2.4.0.81010 - Disclosure - Basis of Presentationtruefalsefalse1false falsefalseD2013Q2YTDhttp://www.sec.gov/CIK0000727892duration2013-01-01T00:00:002013-06-30T00:00:001true 1us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstractus-gaap_truenadurationfalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalse1falsefalsefalse00falsefalsefalsexbrli:stringItemTypestringfalse0Basis of Presentation2false 2us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsDisclosureTextBlockus-gaap_truenadurationfalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalseterseLabel1falsefalsefalse00<div style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times New Roman;"> 1.              Basis of Presentation   RiverSource Life Insurance Company is a stock life insurance company with two wholly owned subsidiaries, RiverSource Life Insurance Co. of New York and RiverSource Tax Advantaged Investments, Inc. (“RTA”).  RiverSource Life Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (“Ameriprise Financial”).   The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of RiverSource Life Insurance Company and companies in which it directly or indirectly has a controlling financial interest (collectively, the “Company”). All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.   The accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Certain reclassifications of prior period amounts have been made to conform to the current presentation.  Results of operations reported for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year.  These Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2013.   The Company has reclassified certain prior year amounts in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows within operating activities to provide more detail related to derivatives. The Company previously classified the change in freestanding derivatives in the “Other, net” line, and the change in derivatives collateral in the “Derivatives collateral, net” line within operating cash flows. The Company reclassified the changes in freestanding derivatives, as well as the change in derivatives collateral, to a new line titled “Derivatives, net of collateral” within operating cash flows.   The interim financial information in this report has not been audited.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial position and results of operations for the interim periods have been made.  Except for the adjustment described below, all adjustments made were of a normal recurring nature.   In the second quarter of 2012, the Company made a correction for a tax item related to prior periods, which resulted in a $32 million decrease to net income. The Company discovered it had received incomplete data from a third party service provider for securities lending activities that resulted in the miscalculation of the Company’s dividend received deduction and foreign tax credit, which resulted in an understatement of taxes payable and an overstatement of reported earnings in prior periods. Management determined that the effect of this correction was not material to the Consolidated Financial Statements for all prior periods. The Company resolved the data issue and stopped the securities lending that negatively impacted its tax position.   The Company evaluated events or transactions that may have occurred after the balance sheet date for potential recognition or disclosure through the date the financial statements were issued. </div>falsefalsefalsenonnum:textBlockItemTypenaThe entire disclosure for organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure.Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 46R -Paragraph 4, 14, 15 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. 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