Financing Agreements (Details) (USD $)			0 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Apr. 02, 2011 ING U.S. Inc.	Dec. 31, 2011 ING U.S. Inc.	Jun. 30, 2001 ING U.S. Inc.	Sep. 30, 2012 Net investment income ING U.S. Inc.	Sep. 30, 2011 Net investment income ING U.S. Inc.	Sep. 30, 2012 Net investment income ING U.S. Inc.	Sep. 30, 2011 Net investment income ING U.S. Inc.	Apr. 20, 2012 Senior Unsecured Credit Facility
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity					3.00%
Variable rate basis on reciprocal loans			ING U.S., Inc.'s cost of funds
Basis spread on reciprocal loans			0.15%
Interest income on reciprocal loans						$ 0	$ 300,000	$ 500,000	$ 800,000
Short-term loan to affiliate	0	648,000,000		648,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Current Borrowing Capacity										$ 5,000,000,000