XML 57 R42.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.10.0.1

Income Tax (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign [Table Text Block]

Pre-tax income for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 consists of the following (dollars in thousands):

		2018				2017				2016
Pre-tax income - U.S.		$	626,197			$	870,532			$	758,496
Pre-tax income - foreign		219,623				272,283				285,450
Total pre-tax income		$	845,820			$	1,142,815			$	1,043,946

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]

The provision for income tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 consists of the following (dollars in thousands):

		2018				2017				2016
Current income tax expense (benefit):
U.S.		$	78,431			$	131,108			$	1,020
U.S. Tax Reform		(68,080		)		—				—
Foreign		43,120				36,830				47,706
Total current		53,471				167,938				48,726
Deferred income tax expense (benefit):
U.S.		62,890				159,853				273,928
U.S. Tax Reform		5,907				(1,033,755		)		—
Foreign		7,710				26,598				19,849
Total deferred		76,507				(847,304		)		293,777
Total provision for income taxes		$	129,978			$	(679,366	)		$	342,503

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

The Company’s effective tax rate differed from the U.S. federal income tax statutory rate of 21%, 35%, and 35% as a result of the following for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 (dollars in thousands):

		2018				2017				2016
Tax provision at U.S. statutory rate		$	177,622			$	399,985			$	365,381
Increase (decrease) in income taxes resulting from:
U.S. Tax Reform		(62,173		)		(1,033,755		)		—
Foreign tax rate differing from U.S. tax rate		4,526				(21,867		)		(13,974		)
Differences in tax basis in foreign jurisdictions		(23,257		)		(23,324		)		(17,770		)
Deferred tax valuation allowance		23,144				29,458				10,963
Amounts related to audit contingencies		1,516				(7,184		)		111
Equity compensation excess benefit		(6,103		)		(10,532		)		—
Corporate rate changes		1,008				(6,065		)		—
GILTI, net of credits		10,400				—				—
Subpart F for non-full inclusion companies		583				1,528				1,783
Foreign tax credits		(2,544		)		(1,681		)		(1,683		)
Return to provision adjustments		(1,305		)		(4,674		)		(1,473		)
Other, net		6,561				(1,255		)		(835		)
Total provision for income taxes		$	129,978			$	(679,366	)		$	342,503
Effective tax rate		15.4		%		(59.4		)%		32.8		%

Schedule Of Income Tax Expense Benefit Intraperiod Tax Allocation [Table Text Block]

Total income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 were as follows (dollars in thousands):

		2018				2017				2016
Provision for income taxes		$	129,978			$	(679,366	)		$	342,503
Income tax from OCI and additional paid-in-capital:
Net unrealized holding gain (loss) on debt and equity securities recognized for financial reporting purposes		(367,933		)		306,849				157,929
Exercise of stock options		—				—				(162		)
Foreign currency translation		19,101				(42,153		)		21,081
Unrealized pension and post retirement		134				404				1,772
Total income taxes provided		$	(218,720	)		$	(414,266	)		$	523,123

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities [Table Text Block]

The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred income tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2018 and 2017, are presented in the following tables (dollars in thousands):

		2018				2017
Deferred income tax assets:
Nondeductible accruals		$	86,092			$	80,905
Differences between tax and financial reporting amounts concerning certain reinsurance transactions		102,014				96,043
Differences in the tax basis of cash and invested assets		28,398				557
Investment income differences		80,200				43,230
Deferred acquisition costs capitalized for tax		124,707				88,531
Net operating loss carryforward		405,958				535,374
Capital loss and tax credit carryforwards		32,897				102,143
Subtotal		860,266				946,783
Valuation allowance		(181,110		)		(226,884		)
Total deferred income tax assets		679,156				719,899
Deferred income tax liabilities:
Deferred acquisition costs capitalized for financial reporting		843,328				627,378
Differences between tax and financial reporting amounts concerning certain reinsurance transactions		1,151,419				1,547,101
Differences in the tax basis of cash and invested assets		345,836				674,569
Investment income differences		9,493				1,858
Differences in foreign currency translation		52,928				33,803
Anticipated future tax credit reduction		25,433				—
Total deferred income tax liabilities		2,428,437				2,884,709
Net deferred income tax liabilities		$	1,749,281			$	2,164,810
Balance sheet presentation of net deferred income tax liabilities:
Included in other assets		$	49,519			$	33,499
Included in deferred income taxes		1,798,800				2,198,309
Net deferred income tax liabilities		$	1,749,281			$	2,164,810

Summary of Operating Loss Carryforwards [Table Text Block]

The following table presents consolidated net operating losses (“NOL”) as of December 31, 2018 (dollars in millions):

	2018
NOL with no expiration and with no valuation allowance	$	52
NOL with a full valuation allowance	167
NOL with no expiration and a partial valuation allowance	396
NOL with expiration dates between 2029 & 2035 with no valuation allowance	1,118
Total net operating loss carryforwards	$	1,733

Summary of Income Tax Contingencies [Table Text Block]

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, is as follows (dollars in thousands):

		Total Unrecognized Tax Benefits
		2018				2017				2016
Beginning balance, January 1		$	321,224			$	297,290			$	296,213
Accounting for business combinations		521				—				—
Additions for tax positions of prior years		255,970				247,596				226,720
Reductions for tax positions of prior years		(256,587		)		(246,894		)		(229,719		)
Additions for tax positions of current year		3,682				36,438				4,186
Payment on deposit		(185		)		—				—
Settlements with tax authorities		—				(13,206		)		(110		)
Ending balance, December 31		$	324,625			$	321,224			$	297,290

X

- Definition

Schedule of income tax expense benefit intraperiod tax allocation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	rga_ScheduleOfIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitIntraperiodTaxAllocationTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	rga_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeTaxDisclosureAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 9
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32639-109319

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfComponentsOfIncomeTaxExpenseBenefitTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the components of net deferred tax asset or liability recognized in an entity's statement of financial position, including the following: the total of all deferred tax liabilities, the total of all deferred tax assets, the total valuation allowance recognized for deferred tax assets.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32537-109319

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfDeferredTaxAssetsAndLiabilitiesTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 12
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32687-109319

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfEffectiveIncomeTaxRateReconciliationTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of income before income tax between domestic and foreign jurisdictions.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(h)(1)(i))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ScheduleOfIncomeBeforeIncomeTaxDomesticAndForeignTableTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Tabular disclosure for tax positions taken in the tax returns filed or to be filed for which it is more likely than not that the tax position will not be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities and other income tax contingencies. Includes, but is not limited to, interest and penalties, reconciliation of unrecognized tax benefits, unrecognized tax benefits that would affect the effective tax rate, tax years that remain subject to examination by tax jurisdictions, and information about positions for which it is reasonably possible that amounts unrecognized will significantly change within 12 months.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 15A
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=SL6600010-109319

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 15
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32718-109319

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 19
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32840-109319

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_SummaryOfIncomeTaxContingenciesTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of pertinent information, such as tax authority, amounts, and expiration dates, of net operating loss carryforwards, including an assessment of the likelihood of utilization.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 740
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84230637&loc=d3e32559-109319

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_SummaryOfOperatingLossCarryforwardsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration