Summary Prospectus by Investment Company (Form 497K)

PRINCIPAL LIFETIME 2050 ACCOUNT - Class 1 Shares

Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. Summary Prospectus May 1, 2021 as amended October 22, 2021

Before you invest, you may want to review the Account's prospectus, which contains more information about the Account and its risks. You can find the Account's prospectus, statement of additional information, reports to shareholders, and other information about the Account online at www.principalfunds.com/pvcprospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 1‑800-222-5852 or by sending an email request to [email protected].

The Account's prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated May 1, 2021, as may be amended or supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.

Beginning on May 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, you may not be receiving paper copies of the Fund's shareholder reports from the insurance company that offers your contract unless you specifically request paper copies from the insurance company or from your financial intermediary. Instead, the shareholder reports will be made available on a website, and the insurance company will notify you by mail each time a report is posted and provide you with a website link to access the report. Instructions for requesting paper copies will be provided by your insurance company. If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the insurance company electronically by following the instructions provided by the insurance company. You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge from the insurance company. You can inform the insurance company that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by following the instructions provided by the insurance company. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all portfolio companies available under your contract.

Objective: The Account seeks a total return consisting of long-term growth of capital and current income.

Fees and Expenses of the Account

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell shares of the Account. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and examples below. These fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract that may invest in the Account and would be higher if they did.

Annual Account Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Class 1
Management Fees	0.00%
Other Expenses	0.02%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	0.65%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses	0.67%

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Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Account with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Account for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Account's operating expenses remain the same. If separate account expenses and contract level expenses were included, expenses would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Principal LifeTime 2050 Account - Class 1	$68	$214	$373	$835

Portfolio Turnover

The Account and each underlying fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Account operating expenses or in the example, affect the performance of the Account and the underlying funds. During its most recent fiscal year, the Account's portfolio turnover rate was 32.8% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Account operates as a "target date fund" that invests according to an asset allocation strategy designed for investors having a retirement investment goal close to the year in the Account's name. The Account is a fund of funds and invests in underlying funds of Principal Funds, Inc. ("PFI") and of Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. ("PVC"). Its underlying funds consist of domestic and foreign equity funds, fixed-income funds, real asset funds, and other funds that aim to offer diversification beyond traditional equity and fixed-income securities. The asset class diversification of the Account is designed to moderate overall price volatility. The Account may add, remove, or substitute underlying funds at any time.

The Account is managed with strategic or long-term asset class targets and target ranges. There is a rebalancing strategy that aligns with the target weights to identify asset classes that are either overweight or underweight. The Account may shift asset class targets in response to normal evaluative processes, the shortening time horizon of the Account or changes in market forces or Account circumstances.

In selecting underlying funds and target weights, the Account considers both quantitative measures (e.g., past performance, expected levels of risk and returns, expense levels, diversification and style consistency) and qualitative factors (e.g., organizational stability, investment experience, investment and risk management processes, and information, trading, and compliance systems). There are no minimum or maximum percentages of assets that the Account must invest in a specific asset class or underlying fund.

The underlying funds invest in growth and value stocks of small, medium, and large market capitalization companies, fixed-income securities, domestic and foreign (including those in emerging markets) securities, securities denominated in foreign currencies, investment companies (including index funds), securitized products, U.S. government and U.S. government-sponsored securities, and derivatives. A derivative is a financial arrangement, the value of which is derived from, or based on, a traditional security, asset, or market index. The underlying funds principally use equity index futures and options in order to gain exposure to a variety of securities or asset classes or attempt to reduce risk.

The Account's asset allocation will become more conservative over time as investment goals near (for example, retirement, which is assumed to begin at age 65) and investors become more risk-averse. Approximately 10 years after its target year, the Account's underlying fund allocation is expected to match that of the Principal LifeTime Strategic Income Account. At that time, the Account may be combined with the Principal LifeTime Strategic Income Account if the Board of Directors determines that the combination is in the best interests of Account shareholders. It is expected that at the target date in the Account's name, the shareholder will begin gradually withdrawing the account's value.

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Principal Risks

The value of your investment in the Account changes with the value of the Account's investments. Many factors affect that value, and it is possible to lose money by investing in the Account. An investment in the Account is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Account are listed below in alphabetical order and not in order of significance.

Principal Risks of Investing in a Fund of Funds

Fund of Funds Risk. Account shareholders bear indirectly their proportionate share of the expenses of other investment companies (for example, other mutual funds or exchange-traded funds) in which the Account invests ("underlying funds"). The Account's selection and weighting of asset classes and allocation of investments in underlying funds may cause it to underperform other funds with a similar investment objective. The Account's performance and risks correspond directly to the performance and risks of the underlying funds in which it invests, proportionately in accordance with the weightings of such investments, and there is no assurance that the underlying funds will achieve their investment objectives. Management of the Account entails potential conflicts of interest: the Account invests in affiliated underlying funds; and the Advisor and its affiliates may earn different fees from different underlying funds and may have an incentive to allocate more Account assets to underlying funds from which they receive higher fees.

Target Date Fund Risk. A target date fund should not be selected based solely on age or retirement date because there is no guarantee that this fund will provide adequate income at or through retirement.

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Principal Risks due to the Account's Investments in Underlying Funds

Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the counterparty to a contract or other obligation will be unable or unwilling to honor its obligations.

Derivatives Risk. Derivatives may not move in the direction anticipated by the portfolio manager. Transactions in derivatives may increase volatility, cause the liquidation of portfolio positions when not advantageous to do so and result in disproportionate losses that may be substantially greater than a fund's initial investment.

•Futures. These derivative instruments involve specific risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the fund and the price of the instruments; possible lack of a liquid secondary market for an instrument and the resulting inability to close it when desired; counterparty risk; and if the fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities from its portfolio to meet any applicable daily variation margin requirements.

•Options. Options involve specific risks, including: imperfect correlation between the change in market value of the instruments held by the fund and the price of the options, counterparty risk, difference in trading hours for the options markets and the markets for the underlying securities (rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets), and an insufficient liquid secondary market for particular options.

Emerging Markets Risk. Investments in emerging markets may have more risk than those in developed markets because the emerging markets are less developed and more illiquid. Emerging markets can also be subject to increased social, economic, regulatory, and political uncertainties and can be extremely volatile. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other U.S. authorities may be limited in their ability to pursue bad actors in emerging markets, including with respect to fraud.

Equity Securities Risk. A variety of factors can negatively impact the value of equity securities held by a fund, including a decline in the issuer's financial condition, unfavorable performance of the issuer's sector or industry, or changes in response to overall market and economic conditions. A fund's principal market segment(s) (such as market capitalization or style) may underperform other market segments or the equity markets as a whole.

•Growth Style Risk. Growth investing entails the risk that if growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of their stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can lessen price declines in market downturns.

•Smaller Companies Risk. Investments in smaller companies may involve greater risk and price volatility than investments in larger, more mature companies. Smaller companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, lack the competitive strength of larger companies, have less experienced managers or depend on a few key employees. Their securities often are less widely held and trade less frequently and in lesser quantities, and their market prices often fluctuate more, than securities of larger companies.

•Value Style Risk. Value investing entails the risk that value stocks may continue to be undervalued by the market for extended periods, including the entire period during which the stock is held by a fund, or the events that would cause the stock price to increase may not occur as anticipated or at all. Moreover, a stock that appears to be undervalued actually may be appropriately priced at a low level and therefore would not be profitable for the fund.

Fixed-Income Securities Risk. Fixed-income securities are subject to interest rate, credit quality, and liquidity risks. The market value of fixed-income securities generally declines when interest rates rise and generally increases when interest rates fall. Higher interest rates may adversely affect the liquidity of certain fixed-income securities. Moreover, an issuer of fixed-income securities could default on its payment obligations due to increased interest rates or for other reasons.

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Foreign Currency Risk. Risks of investing in securities denominated in, or that trade in, foreign (non-U.S.) currencies include changes in foreign exchange rates and foreign exchange restrictions.

Foreign Securities Risk. The risks of foreign securities include loss of value as a result of: political or economic instability; nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation; settlement delays; and limited government regulation (including less stringent reporting, accounting, and disclosure standards than are required of U.S. companies).

Index Fund Risk. Index funds use a passive investment approach and generally do not attempt to manage market volatility, use defensive strategies, or reduce the effect of any long-term periods of poor investment performance. Therefore, the Account may hold securities that present risks that an investment advisor researching individual securities might seek to avoid. An index fund has operating and other expenses while an index does not. As a result, over time, index funds tend to underperform the index. The correlation between fund performance and index performance may also be affected by the type of passive investment approach used by a fund (sampling or replication), changes in securities markets, changes in the composition of the index, and the timing of purchases and sales of fund shares. Errors or delays in compiling or rebalancing the Index may impact the performance of the Account and increase transaction costs.

Portfolio Duration Risk. Portfolio duration is a measure of the expected life of a fixed-income security and its sensitivity to changes in interest rates. The longer a fund's average portfolio duration, the more sensitive the fund will be to changes in interest rates, which means funds with longer average portfolio durations may be more volatile than those with shorter durations.

Redemption and Large Transaction Risk. Ownership of the fund's shares may be concentrated in one or a few large investors (such as funds of funds, institutional investors, and asset allocation programs) that may redeem or purchase shares in large quantities. These transactions may cause the fund to sell securities to meet redemptions or to invest additional cash at times it would not otherwise do so, which may result in increased transaction costs, increased expenses, changes to expense ratios, and adverse effects to fund performance. Such transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income if sales of portfolio securities result in gains. Moreover, reallocations by large shareholders among share classes of a fund may result in changes to the expense ratios of affected classes, which may increase the expenses paid by shareholders of the class that experienced the redemption.

Securitized Products Risk. Investments in securitized products are subject to risks similar to traditional fixed income securities, such as credit, interest rate, liquidity, prepayment, extension, and default risk, as well as additional risks associated with the nature of the assets and the servicing of those assets. Unscheduled prepayments on securitized products may have to be reinvested at lower rates. A reduction in prepayments may increase the effective maturities of these securities, exposing them to the risk of decline in market value over time (extension risk).

U.S. Government Securities Risk. Yields available from U.S. government securities are generally lower than yields from many other fixed-income securities.

U.S. Government-Sponsored Securities Risk. Securities issued by U.S. government-sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Banks are not issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government.

Performance

The following information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Account. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Account will perform in the future. You may get updated performance information by calling 1-800-222-5852.

The bar chart shows changes in the Account's performance from year to year. The table shows how the Account's average annual returns for 1, 5, and 10 years (or, if shorter, the life of the Account) compare with those of one or more broad measures of market performance. Performance figures for the Account do not include any separate account expenses, cost of insurance, or other contract-level expenses; total returns for the Account would be lower if such expenses were included.

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Total Returns as of December 31

Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q2 2020	19.68	%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q1 2020	(20.78)	%

Average Annual Total Returns For the periods ended December 31, 2020
1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
Principal LifeTime 2050 Account - Class 1	16.68%	11.68%	9.81%
S&P Target Date 2050 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)	13.83%	11.44%	9.67%

Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers

Principal Global Investors, LLC

•James W. Fennessey (since 2007), Portfolio Manager

•Scott Smith (since 2017), Associate Portfolio Manager

•Randy L. Welch (since 2007), Portfolio Manager

Tax Information

The Fund intends to comply with applicable variable asset diversification regulations. Taxation to you will depend on what you do with your variable life insurance or variable annuity contract. See your variable product prospectus for information about the tax implications of investing in the Accounts.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank, insurance company, investment advisor, etc.), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment, to recommend one Account or share class of the Fund over another Account or share class, or to recommend one variable annuity, variable life insurance policy or mutual fund over another. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

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