EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans Net Periodic Pension Expense

Components of net periodic pension expense for the Company’s qualified plans were as follows:

	2015			2014			2013
	(In Millions)
Service cost	$	8		$	9		$	40
Interest cost	93			107			99
Expected return on assets	(159		)	(155		)	(155		)
Actuarial (gain) loss	1			1			1
Net amortization	110			111			155
Curtailment	—			—			3
Net Periodic Pension Expense	$	53		$	73		$	143

Schedule of Accumulated and Projected Benefit Obligations

Changes in the PBO of the Company’s qualified plans were comprised of:

	December 31,
	2015			2014
	(In Millions)
Projected benefit obligation, beginning of year	$	2,657		$	2,463
Service cost	—			—
Interest cost	93			107
Actuarial (gains) losses	(6		)	264
Benefits paid	(169		)	(177		)
Plan amendments and curtailments	1			—
Projected Benefit Obligation	2,576			2,657
Transfer to AXA Financial	(2,447		)	—
Projected Benefit Obligation, End of Year	$	129		$	2,657

Schedule of Net Funded Status

The following table discloses the changes in plan assets and the funded status of the Company’s qualified pension plans. The fair value of plan assets supporting the AXA Equitable QP liability was not impacted by the Assumption Transaction and the payment of plan benefits will continue to be made from the plan assets held in trust for the exclusive benefit of plan participants.

	December 31,
	2015			2014
	(In Millions)
Pension plan assets at fair value, beginning of year	$	2,473		$	2,401
Actual return on plan assets	24			250
Contributions	—			6
Benefits paid and fees	(175		)	(184		)
Pension plan assets at fair value, end of year	2,322			2,473
PBO, immediately preceding the Transfer to AXA Financial	2,576			2,657
Excess of PBO Over Pension Plan Assets, immediately preceding the Transfer to AXA Financial	(254		)	(184		)
Transfer to AXA Financial	$	211		$	—
Excess of PBO Over Pension Plan Assets, end of year	$	(43	)	$	(184	)

Schedule of Net Periodic Benefit Cost Not yet Recognized

The following table discloses the amounts included in AOCI at December 31, 2015 and 2014 that have not yet been recognized by AXA Equitable as components of net periodic pension cost. Not shown in the table at December 31, 2015 is approximately $1,193 million unrecognized net actuarial losses related to the AXA Equitable QP and accumulated in AOCI transferred to AXA Financial due to the Assumption Transaction.

	December 31,
	2015		2014
	(In Millions)
Unrecognized net actuarial (gain) loss	$	49	$	1,144
Unrecognized prior service cost (credit)	1		—
Total	$	50	$	1,144

Schedule of Allocation of Plan Assets

The tables below disclose the allocation of the approximately $2,473 million fair value of total plan assets for the qualified pension plans of the Company and their level of observability within the fair value hierarchy at December 31, 2014. At December 31, 2014, assets classified as Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 comprised approximately 32.4%, 57.6% and 10.0%, respectively, of qualified pension plan assets. During 2014, there were no transfers in/out of the Level 3 plan asset classification; activity in Level 3 consisted only of actual returns of approximately $22 million on those assets. Except for an investment at December 31, 2014 of approximately $1 million in a private REIT through a pooled separate account, there were no significant concentrations of credit risk arising within or across categories of qualified pension plan assets.

	December 31,
	2015		2014
Fixed Maturities	24.0	%	49.4	%
Equity Securities	56.0		38.8
Equity real estate	—		9.8
Cash and short-term investments	—		1.3
Other	20.0		0.7
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%

Schedule of Fair Values of Plan Assets Within Fair Value Hierarchy

December 31, 2015:	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Asset Categories	(In Millions)
Fixed Maturities:
Other structured debt	$	—	$	9	$	—	$	9
Common and preferred equity	24		—		—		24
Mutual funds	43		—		—		43
Private real estate investment trusts	—		10		—		10
Total	$	67	$	19	$	—	$	86

December 31, 2014:	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Asset Categories	(In Millions)
Fixed Maturities:
Corporate	$	—	$	833	$	—	$	833
U.S. Treasury, government and agency	—		358		—		358
States and political subdivisions	—		18		—		18
Other structured debt	—		9		3		12
Common and preferred equity	743		177		—		920
Mutual funds	46		—		—		46
Private real estate investment funds	—		—		1		1
Private real estate investment trusts	—		10		242		252
Cash and cash equivalents	13		—		—		13
Short-term investments	—		20		—		20
Total	$	802	$	1,425	$	246	$	2,473

Schedule or Description of Weighted Average Discount Rate

The following table discloses assumptions used to measure the Company’s pension benefit obligations and net periodic pension cost at and for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. As described above, AXA Equitable refined its calculation of the discount rate for the year ended December 31, 2015 valuation of its defined benefits plans to use the discrete single equivalent discount rate for each plan as compared to its previous use of an aggregate, weighted average practical expedient.

	December 31,
	2015		2014
Discount rates:
AXA Equitable QP, immediately preceding Transfer to AXA Financial	3.98	%	N/A
Other AXA Equitable defined benefit plans	3.66	%	N/A
AB Qualified Retirement Plan	4.3	%	N/A
Benefits obligations (aggregate methodology for 2014)	N/A		3.6	%
Periodic cost	3.6	%	3.6	%
Rates of compensation increase:
Benefit obligation	6.00	%	6.00	%
Periodic cost	6.46	%	6.00	%
Expected long-term rates of return on pension plan assets (periodic cost)	6.75	%	6.75	%

Schedule of Expected Benefit Payments

The following table provides an estimate of future benefits expected to be paid in each of the next five years, beginning January 1, 2016, and in the aggregate for the five years thereafter, all of which are subsequent to the Assumption Transaction. These estimates are based on the same assumptions used to measure the respective benefit obligations at December 31, 2015 and include benefits attributable to estimated future employee service.

	Pension Benefits
	(In Millions)
2016	$	6
2017	4
2018	5
2019	6
2020	5
Years 2021-2025	36