The funds date back to 1952, when the National Industrial Council for the Motor Industry created the first pension fund in the automotive industry, the Motor Industry Pension Fund (Pty) Ltd, to administer retirement equity for employers and employees in the retail sector of the motor industry.

Over the years, the fund evolved and is now known as the Motor Industry Retirement Fund (MIRF), which manages five separate funds with a total asset value of almost R40 billion and represents over 250 000 members. The funds owe their existence to the collective bargaining arrangement in the motor industry and have their origin in the collective agreement for the motor industry.