Filing by Investment Company (SEC Filing - 497K)

INTERNATIONAL EMERGING MARKETS ACCOUNT - Class 1 Shares

Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. Summary Prospectus May 1, 2021 as amended September 20, 2021

On or about May 1, 2022, delete all references in this prospectus to the International Emerging Markets Account, and replace with Global Emerging Markets Account.

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 long-term growth of capital.

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.

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Annual Account Operating Expenses

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

Class 1
Management Fees (1)	1.10%
Other Expenses	0.11%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses	1.21%
Expense Reimbursement (2)	(0.01)%
Total Annual Account Operating Expenses after Expense Reimbursement	1.20%

(1) Fees have been restated to reflect current fees.

(2) Principal Global Investors, LLC ("PGI"), the investment advisor, has contractually agreed to limit the Account's expenses by paying, if necessary, expenses normally payable by the Account, (excluding interest expense, expenses related to fund investments, acquired fund fees and expenses, and other extraordinary expenses) to maintain a total level of operating expenses (expressed as a percent of average net assets on an annualized basis) not to exceed 1.20% for Class 1 shares. It is expected that the expense limit will continue through the period ending April 30, 2022; however, Principal Variable Contracts Funds, Inc. and PGI, the parties to the agreement, may mutually agree to terminate the expense limit prior to the end of the period. Subject to applicable expense limits, the Account may reimburse PGI for expenses incurred during the current fiscal year.

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. The calculation of costs takes into account any applicable contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements for the period noted in the table above. 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
International Emerging Markets Account - Class 1	$122	$383	$664	$1,465

Portfolio Turnover

The Account 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 Account's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Account's portfolio turnover rate was 57.6% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the Account invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of emerging market companies at the time of purchase. The Account considers a security to be tied economically to an emerging market (an "emerging market security") if the issuer of the security has its principal place of business or principal office in an emerging market, has its principal securities trading market in an emerging market, or derives a majority of its revenue from emerging markets.

Here, "emerging market" means any market which is considered to be an emerging market by the international financial community (including the MSCI Emerging Markets Index or Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets USD Aggregate Bond Index). Emerging markets generally exclude the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, and most nations located in Western Europe. The Account invests in equity securities regardless of market capitalization (small, medium or large) and style (growth or 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.

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.

•China Investment Risk. The Account invests a significant portion of its assets in securities of issuers located or operating in China. Investing in China involves certain heightened risks and considerations, including, among others: frequent trading suspensions and government interventions (including by nationalizing assets); currency exchange rate fluctuations or blockages; limits on using brokers and on foreign ownership; different financial reporting standards; higher dependence on exports and international trade; political and social instability; infectious disease outbreaks; regional and global conflicts; increased trade tariffs, embargoes and other trade limitations; custody and other risks associated with programs used to access Chinese securities; and uncertainties in tax rules that could result in unexpected tax liabilities for the Account. Significant portions of the Chinese securities markets may become rapidly illiquid, as Chinese issuers have the ability to suspend the trading of their equity securities. Moreover, actions by the U.S. government, such as delisting of certain Chinese companies from U.S. securities exchanges or otherwise restricting their operations in the U.S., may negatively impact the value of such securities held by the funds.

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.

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.

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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).

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.

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.

During 2016, the Account experienced a significant one-time gain of approximately $0.07 per share as the result of a settlement in a litigation proceeding. If such gain had not been recognized, the total return amounts expressed herein would have been lower.

Total Returns as of December 31

Highest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q2 2020	19.63	%
Lowest return for a quarter during the period of the bar chart above:	Q1 2020	(24.46)	%

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Average Annual Total Returns For the periods ended December 31, 2020
1 Year	5 Years	10 Years
International Emerging Markets Account - Class 1	19.23%	11.28%	(1)	2.93%	(1)
MSCI Emerging Markets Index NTR (reflects withholding taxes on foreign dividends, but no deduction for fees, expenses, or other taxes)	18.27%	12.80%	3.63%

(1) During 2016, the Account experienced a significant one-time gain of approximately $0.07 per share as the result of a settlement in a litigation proceeding. If such gain had not been recognized, the total return amounts expressed herein would have been lower.

Investment Advisor and Portfolio Managers

Principal Global Investors, LLC

•Paul H. Blankenhagen (since 2019), Portfolio Manager (remove on or about September 30, 2021)

•Jeffrey Kilkenny (since 2020), Portfolio Manager

•Alan Wang (since 2014), Portfolio Manager (remove on or about September 30, 2021)

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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