KEY POINTS:
Listed-healthcare and beauty product retailer Life Pharmacy is among a number of New Zealand businesses that expect the KiwiSaver scheme to hurt employers in the long term.
The company's more than 780 existing staff nationwide are mainly in retail and some of them have already signed up with the scheme, a cost the company is yet to fully determine.
"We are concerned about it and the effect it will have on the wage bill, which is already under pressure," Life pharmacy spokeswoman Jan Jones told nzherald.co.nz today.
Ms Jones's comments echoed that of Business New Zealand's Phil O'Reilly, who this week rubbished a finance and expenditure select committee report that said compulsory employer contributions to KiwiSaver were unlikely to impose significant financial strain on small or newer businesses.
Maker of chemical equipment Rocklabs also expects KiwiSaver will put a dent in its pockets.
In the past, the 40-year old business offered its staff other company benefits but such costs will now be further compounded by KiwiSaver.
"We were not planning to have a super scheme" before the KiwiSaver scheme was introduced, Rocklab's account administrator Diana Paterson said.
"In general terms, it's going to cost the business. It will cost us time as well because a bit of time goes into all this."
To date, three of 30 employees have signed up to the scheme Ms Paterson said.
One company that didn't see the scheme in a negative light was Australian-owned tyre specialist, Tyres 4 U. Under its old superannuation scheme the company made a contribution of 9 per cent, compared with Kiwisaver's 4 per cent.
"We embraced KiwiSaver", a Tyres 4 U spokeswoman said.
"It hasn't hit us like New Zealand companies. It benefits us because we pay a significant amount."
Fifteen of its 51 staff have signed up with Kiwisaver and around 30 have remained under the old scheme it has with Asteron.
