# Retirement Plan for Employees of Lighthouse International

Retirement Plan for Employees of Lighthouse International is a Pension Fund based in New York, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** New York, NY, United States
- **Founded:** 1955
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** https://www.lighthouseguild.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthouseguild

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The plan was established to provide retirement benefits for employees of Lighthouse International, a New York-based nonprofit dedicated to fighting vision loss. When Lighthouse International merged with Jewish Guild for the Blind in 2013 to form Lighthouse Guild, the pension plan did not seamlessly transfer with the operating entity. Instead, it fell under the trusteeship of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the federal agency that steps in when private-sector defined-benefit plans lack sufficient resources or an ongoing sponsor. The plan's existence is now a function of PBGC administration rather than active employer contributions. The plan's remaining assets are managed and distributed by the PBGC, which pays benefits up to statutory limits to vested participants. Unlike an active corporate pension, this fund does not deploy fresh capital into private markets, venture funds, or direct co-investments. Its investment posture is entirely defensive: asset preservation and orderly liability satisfaction, not portfolio construction. The investment committee that once oversaw the plan—including Thomas G. Kahn of Kahn Brothers Group and Thomas S. T. Gimbel—had influence only before the PBGC takeover. Their roles now connect to Lighthouse Guild's broader board governance, not to the pension's day-to-day asset management. The plan has no active investment offices, no disclosed professionals dedicated to it, and no external fund commitments. Its headquarters address is effectively the PBGC's administrative machinery in Washington, D.C., not Lighthouse Guild's West 64th Street offices. This plan sits outside the normal family-office ecosystem but is structurally notable for precisely that reason. It is a terminated single-employer plan absorbed into a federal insurance backstop—a closed book of retiree liabilities rather than a going-concern allocator. No sponsor, no deployment, no investment committee meetings. For an institutional allocator, the plan's profile is a regulatory artifact, not a counterparty.

## People

- James M. Dubin — Chairman, Lighthouse Guild International
- Lawrence E. Goldschmidt — Vice Chairman and Treasurer, Lighthouse Guild
- Thomas G. Kahn — Member of the Board and Investment Committee; President of Kahn Brothers Group
- Thomas S. T. Gimbel — Member of the Investment Committee, Lighthouse Guild

## Questions

### Who manages the plan's assets today?

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation manages all assets as trustee. When the PBGC assumes a plan, it liquidates the portfolio and merges the assets into its own revolving trust fund, which is invested conservatively across fixed-income and public-market instruments. No external investment advisors or Lighthouse Guild board members direct the investments.

### Why did the PBGC take over this pension plan?

The takeover was triggered by the 2013 merger of Lighthouse International and Jewish Guild for the Blind, which formed Lighthouse Guild. The original sponsor ceased to exist in its prior form, and the plan either lacked sufficient funding to cover all accrued benefits or the new entity did not assume the pension liabilities. The PBGC stepped in as statutory trustee under ERISA. The exact termination date and reason are matters of public record.

### Can this plan make new investments or take on limited partners?

No. As a PBGC-trusteed, terminated plan, it does not make new investments, commit to funds, or co-invest. It pays monthly benefits to vested participants until all liabilities are exhausted. There is no active allocation committee and no capacity to serve as a counterparty for institutional investors.

### Is Lighthouse Guild still involved with the pension plan?

No. Although executives such as Chairman James M. Dubin and board member Thomas G. Kahn remain associated with Lighthouse Guild, they have no fiduciary role over the terminated pension plan. Their ongoing responsibilities are limited to the nonprofit's charitable mission, not the legacy retirement obligations now administered by a federal agency.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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