The Commission was created under IC 2-5-12 to oversee and study public retirement fund Indiana. Under IC 2-5-12, the Commission is required to do the following:
    (1) Study the investment and management practices of the boards of the public retirement funds.
    (2) Determine what constitutes adequate wage replacement levels at retirement (including benefits from public retirement funds and social security) for public employees.
    (3) Study the impact of federal law and proposals concerning pensions, annuities, and retirement benefits.
    (4) Study the public safety officers' retirement funds established under IC 36-8.
    (5) Study methods and levels of funding for public retirement plans.

The Commission may also study other topics assigned by the Legislative Council or as directed by the Chairperson of the Commission. For the 1999 interim, the Legislative Council has assigned the following additional topics to the Commission:
    (1) Study Indiana's policy concerning the taxation of pension benefits earned by federal retirees.
    (2) Study various issues related to prosecuting attorney pensions.