Total

Ivy VIP High Income

Ivy VIP High Income

Objective

To seek to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio. The table below does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts (collectively, Policies) through which this Portfolio is offered. See the Policy prospectus for a description of those fees and expenses.

Shareholder Fees(fees paid directly from your investment)

Shareholder Fees - Ivy VIP High Income - USD ($)	Class I	Class II
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses(expenses that you pay each year as a % of the value of your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Ivy VIP High Income		Class I	Class II
Management Fees		0.62%	0.62%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees		none	0.25%
Other Expenses		0.07%	0.07%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses	[1]	0.03%	0.03%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses	[2],[3]	0.72%	0.97%

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the shares of the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other portfolios. This example does not reflect any fees and expenses imposed under the Policies.

The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the particular class of shares of the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs are the same for each time period if you continue to hold your shares or if you redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

Expense Example - Ivy VIP High Income - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	74	230	401	894
Class II	99	309	536	1,190

Expense Example, No Redemption - Ivy VIP High Income - USD ($)	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years	10 Years
Class I	74	230	401	894
Class II	99	309	536	1,190

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio bears transaction costs, such as spreads between bid and asked prices, 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 portfolio operating expenses or in the example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 52% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Ivy VIP High Income seeks to achieve its objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of high-yield, high-risk, fixed-income securities, including secured and unsecured loan assignments, loan participations and other loan instruments (loans), of U.S. and foreign issuers, the risks of which are, in the judgment of Ivy Investment Management

Company (IICO), the Portfolio’s investment manager, consistent with the Portfolio’s objective. The Portfolio invests primarily in lower-quality debt securities, which include debt securities rated BBB+ or lower by S&P Global Ratings, a division of S&P Global, Inc. (S&P), or comparably rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in non-investment-grade debt securities, commonly called “high-yield” or “junk” bonds, which include debt securities rated BB+ or lower by S&P, or comparably rated by another NRSRO or, if unrated, determined by IICO to be of comparable quality. The Portfolio may invest in fixed-income securities of any maturity.

The Portfolio may invest up to 100% of its total assets in foreign securities that are denominated in U.S. dollars or foreign currencies. Many of the companies in which the Portfolio may invest have diverse operations, with products or services in foreign markets. Therefore, the Portfolio may have indirect exposure to various foreign markets through investments in these companies, even if the Portfolio is not invested directly in such markets.

The Portfolio may invest in restricted securities.

Although IICO considers credit ratings in selecting investments for the Portfolio, IICO bases its investment decisions for a particular instrument primarily on its own credit analysis and not on a NRSRO’s credit rating. In selecting securities, IICO may conduct an initial screening of issuers based on characteristics such as yield, performance, maturity and relative value across and within sectors. Following its initial screening, IICO may look at a number of factors beginning with a primarily bottom-up (researching individual issuers) analysis that includes extensive modeling and talking with a company’s management team, industry consultants and sell-side research to help formulate opinions, and progressing to consideration of the current economic environment, the direction and level of interest rates and inflation, and industry fundamentals and trends in the general economy. Other factors considered include a company’s financial strength, growth of operating cash flows, strength of management, borrowing requirements, improving credit metrics, potential to improve credit standing, responsiveness to changes in interest rates and business conditions, strength of business model, competitive advantage and capital structure and future capital needs. Initial position sizes are determined based on factors that include size of issue, rating, duration, coupon, call-ability, exposure to a specific industry and leverage.

IICO attempts to optimize the Portfolio’s risk/reward by investing in the debt portion of the capital structure that IICO believes to be most attractive, which may include secured and/or unsecured loans, floating rate notes and/or secured and/or unsecured high-yield bonds. For example, if IICO believes that market conditions are favorable for a particular type of fixed-income instrument, such as high-yield bonds, most or all of the fixed-income instruments in which the Portfolio invests may be high-yield bonds. Similarly, if IICO believes that market conditions are favorable for loans, most or all of the fixed-income instruments in which the Portfolio invests may be loans, including second-lien loans which typically are lower in the capital structure and less liquid than first-lien loans.

Generally, in determining whether to sell a security, IICO considers the dynamics of an industry and/or company change or anticipated change, a change in strategy by a company, a deterioration of the company’s financial model, credit quality or credit standing, and/or a change in management’s consideration of its creditors. IICO also may sell a security if, in IICO’s opinion, the price of the security has risen to fully reflect the company’s improved creditworthiness and other investments with greater potential exist. IICO also may sell a security to take advantage of what it believes are more attractive investment opportunities, to reduce the Portfolio’s holding in that security or to raise cash.

Principal Investment Risks

As with any mutual fund, the value of the Portfolio’s shares will change, and you could lose money on your investment. The Portfolio is not intended as a complete investment program.

A variety of factors can affect the investment performance of the Portfolio and prevent it from achieving its objective. These include:

■ Company Risk. A company may be more volatile or perform worse than the overall market due to specific factors, such as adverse changes to its business or investor perceptions about the company.

■ Credit Risk. An issuer of a fixed-income obligation may not make payments on the obligation when due or may default on its obligation. There also is the risk that an issuer could suffer adverse changes in its financial condition that could lower the credit quality of a security. This could lead to greater volatility in the price of the security, could affect the security’s liquidity, and could make it more difficult to sell. A downgrade or default affecting any of the Portfolio’s securities could affect the Portfolio’s performance. In general, the longer the maturity and the lower the credit quality of a bond, the more sensitive it is to credit risk.

■ Extension Risk. A rise in interest rates could cause borrowers to pay back the principal on certain debt securities, such as mortgage-backed or asset-backed securities, more slowly than expected, thus lengthening the average life of such securities. This could cause the value of such securities to be more volatile or to decline more than other fixed-income securities, and may magnify the effect of the rate increase on the price of such securities.

■ Fixed-Income Market Risk. The prices of the Portfolio’s fixed-income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to perceptions about the creditworthiness of individual

issuers. Generally, the Portfolio’s fixed-income securities will decrease in value if interest rates rise and vice versa. In a low interest rate environment, risks associated with rising rates are heightened. Rising interest rates tend to decrease liquidity, increase trading costs and increase volatility, all of which may make portfolio management more difficult and costly to the Portfolio and its shareholders. In the case of foreign securities, price fluctuations will reflect international economic and political events, as well as changes in currency valuations relative to the U.S. dollar. Other factors may materially and adversely affect the market price and yield of such fixed-income securities, including investor demand, changes in the financial condition of the applicable issuer, government fiscal policy and domestic or worldwide economic conditions. In addition, certain events, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war, regional or global instability and other geopolitical events, have led, and may in the future lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on world economies and markets generally.

■ Foreign Currency Risk. Foreign securities may be denominated in foreign currencies. The value of the Portfolio’s investments, as measured in U.S. dollars, may be unfavorably affected by changes in foreign currency exchange rates and exchange control regulations. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets.

■ Foreign Exposure Risk. The securities of many companies may have significant exposure to foreign markets as a result of the company’s operations, products or services in those foreign markets. As a result, a company’s domicile and/or the markets in which the company’s securities trade may not be fully reflective of its sources of revenue. Such securities would be subject to some of the same risks as an investment in foreign securities, including the risk that political and economic events unique to a country or region will adversely affect those markets in which the company’s products or services are sold.

■

Foreign Securities Risk. Investing in foreign securities involves a number of economic, financial, legal and political considerations that are not associated with the U.S. markets and that could affect the Portfolio’s performance unfavorably, depending upon the prevailing conditions at any given time. Among these potential risks are: greater price volatility; comparatively weak supervision and regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and issuers; higher brokerage costs; social, political or economic instability; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and related conversion costs or currency redenomination; nationalization or expropriation of assets; adverse foreign tax consequences; different and/or less stringent financial reporting standards; and settlement, custodial or other operational delays. The risks may be exacerbated in connection with investments in emerging markets.

World markets, or those in a particular region, all may react in similar fashion to important economic or political developments. In addition, key information about the issuer, the markets or the local government or economy may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. Securities of issuers traded on exchanges may be suspended, either by the issuers themselves, by an exchange or by governmental authorities. The likelihood of such suspensions may be higher for securities of issuers in emerging markets than in more developed markets. In the event that the Portfolio holds material positions in such suspended securities, the Portfolio’s ability to liquidate its positions or provide liquidity to investors may be compromised and the Portfolio could incur significant losses.

■ Income Risk. The risk that the Portfolio may experience a decline in its income due to falling interest rates, earnings declines, or income decline within a security. The amount and rate of distributions that the Portfolio’s shareholders receive are affected by the income that the Portfolio receives from its portfolio holdings. If the income is reduced, distributions by the Portfolio to shareholders may be less.

■ Interest Rate Risk. A rise in interest rates may cause a decline in the value of the Portfolio’s securities, especially securities with longer maturities. Typically, the longer the maturity or duration of a debt security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates could have on the security’s price. Thus, the sensitivity of the Portfolio’s debt securities to interest rate risk will increase with any increase in the duration of those securities. A decline in interest rates may cause the Portfolio to experience a decline in its income. Interest rates in the U.S. recently have been at, and remain near, historic lows, which may increase the Portfolio’s exposure to risks associated with rising rates. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk as a result of a rise or anticipated rise in interest rates. In addition, a general rise in rates may result in decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income markets generally.

■ Liquidity Risk. Liquidity generally is related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Securities that have relatively less liquidity may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments, and may be subject to wider fluctuations in market value. Such securities may be more difficult to dispose of at their recorded values and are subject to increased spreads and volatility. Also, the Portfolio may not be able to dispose of illiquid, or relatively less liquid, securities when that would be beneficial at a favorable time or price. Certain investments that generally were liquid when the Portfolio purchased them may become relatively less liquid, or even deemed illiquid, sometimes abruptly.

■ Loan Risk. In addition to the risks typically associated with fixed-income securities, loans carry other risks, including the risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other intermediary. The risks associated with loans are similar to the risks of low-rated debt securities or “junk” bonds since loans typically are below investment-grade. Loans may be unsecured or not fully collateralized, may be subject to restrictions on resale, may be difficult to value, sometimes trade infrequently on the secondary market and generally are subject to extended settlement periods. Any of these factors may impair the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize promptly the full value of its loans in the event of a need to liquidate such loans. Accordingly, loans that have been sold may not be immediately available to meet redemptions. Extended

trade settlement periods may result in cash not being immediately available to the Portfolio. As a result, the Portfolio may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions to raise cash to meet its obligations. Interests in secured loans have the benefit of collateral and, typically, of restrictive covenants limiting the ability of the borrower to further encumber its assets. There is a risk that the value of the collateral securing a loan in which the Portfolio has an interest may decline and that the collateral may not be sufficient to cover the amount owed on the loan. In the event the borrower defaults, the Portfolio’s access to the collateral may be limited or delayed by bankruptcy and other insolvency laws. These risks could cause the Portfolio to lose income or principal on a particular investment, which could affect the Portfolio’s returns. In addition, loans also are subject to the risk that a court could subordinate the loan to presently existing or future indebtedness or take other action detrimental to the holders of the loan. Further, in the event of a default, second or lower lien secured loans will generally be paid only if the value of the collateral exceeds the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the senior secured lenders, and the remaining collateral may not be sufficient to cover the full amount owed on the loan in which the Portfolio has an interest. Loans made to finance highly leveraged companies or to finance corporate acquisitions or other transactions may be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in economic or market conditions.

With loan assignments, as an assignee, the Portfolio normally will succeed to all rights and obligations of its assignor with respect to the portion of the loan that is being assigned. However, the rights and obligations acquired by the purchaser of a loan assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the original lenders or the assignor. With loan participations, the Portfolio may not be able to control the exercise of any remedies that the lender would have under the loan and likely would not have any rights against the borrower directly, so that delays and expense may be greater than those that would be involved if the Portfolio could enforce its rights directly against the borrower.

■ Low-Rated Securities Risk. In general, low-rated debt securities (commonly referred to as “high-yield” or “junk” bonds) offer higher yields due to the increased risk that the issuer will be unable to meet its obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by the debt instrument. For this reason, these securities are considered speculative and could significantly weaken the Portfolio’s returns. In adverse economic or other circumstances, issuers of these low-rated securities and obligations are more likely to have difficulty making principal and interest payments than issuers of higher-rated securities and obligations. In addition, these low-rated securities and obligations may fluctuate more widely in price and yield than higher-rated securities and obligations and may fall in price during times when the economy is weak or is expected to become weak. Issuers of securities that are in default or have defaulted may fail to resume principal or interest payments, in which case the Portfolio may lose its entire investment. The creditworthiness of issuers of low-rated securities may be more complex to analyze than that of issuers of investment-grade debt securities.

■ Management Risk. Portfolio performance is primarily dependent on IICO's skill in evaluating and managing the Portfolio’s holdings. There can be no guarantee that its decisions will produce the desired results, and the Portfolio may not perform as well as other similar mutual funds.

■ Reinvestment Risk. A decline in interest rates may cause issuers to prepay higher-yielding securities held by the Portfolio, resulting in the Portfolio reinvesting in securities with lower yields, which may cause a decline in its income.

■ Restricted Securities Risk. Restricted securities are subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale, and there can be no assurance of a ready market for resale. These securities include private placements or other unregistered securities, such as “Rule 144A securities”, which are securities that may be sold only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (1933 Act). Privately placed securities, Rule 144A securities and other restricted securities may have the effect of increasing the level of Portfolio illiquidity to the extent the Portfolio finds it difficult to sell these securities when IICO believes it is desirable to do so, especially under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, and the prices realized could be less than those originally paid, or less than the fair market value. At times, the illiquidity of the market, as well as the lack of publicly available information regarding these securities also may make it difficult to determine the fair market value of such securities for purposes of computing the NAV of the Portfolio.

Performance

The chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The chart shows how performance has varied from year to year for Class II shares of the Portfolio. The table shows the average annual total returns for each class of the Portfolio and also compares the Portfolio’s returns with those of a broad-based securities market index and a Morningstar peer group (comprised of a universe of mutual funds with investment objectives similar to that of the Portfolio). The performance results do not reflect any Policy-related fees and expenses, which would reduce the performance results.

Performance results include the effect of expense reduction arrangements for some or all of the periods shown. If those arrangements had not been in place, the performance results for those periods would have been lower.

Prior to April 30, 2012, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek, as its primary objective, a high level of current income and, as a secondary objective, to seek capital growth when consistent with its primary objective. Effective as of April 30, 2012, the Portfolio changed its investment objective to seeking to provide total return through a combination of high current income and capital appreciation.

The Portfolio’s past performance does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Current performance may be lower or higher. Please call (888) 923-3355 for the Portfolio’s updated performance.

Chart of Year-by-Year Returnsas of December 31 each year

In the period shown in the chart, the highest quarterly return was 8.56% (the second quarter of 2020) and the lowest quarterly return was -14.50% (the first quarter of 2020).

Average Annual Total Returnsas of December 31, 2020

Average Annual Total Returns - Ivy VIP High Income	1 Year	5 Years	10 Years	Life of Class	Inception Date
Class I	6.30%			5.15%	Apr. 28, 2017
Class II	6.03%	7.42%	6.52%
ICE BofA US High Yield Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)	6.17%	8.43%	6.62%
Morningstar High-Yield Bond Category Average (net of fees and expenses)	4.91%	6.75%	5.55%

[1] Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses sets forth the Portfolio’s pro rata portion of the cumulative expenses charged by the registered investment companies (RICs) in which the Portfolio invested during the last fiscal year. The actual Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses will vary with changes in the allocations of the Portfolio’s assets. The Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses shown are based on the total expense ratio of the RICs for the RICs' most recent fiscal period. These expenses are not direct costs paid by Portfolio shareholders, and are not used to calculate the Portfolio's NAV.

[2] The Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses ratio shown in this table does not correlate to the expense ratio shown in the Financial Highlights table because that ratio does not include the Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.

[3] Through April 30, 2022, Ivy Distributors, Inc. (IDI), the Portfolio’s distributor, and/or Waddell & Reed Services Company (doing business as WI Services Company (WISC)), the Portfolio’s transfer agent, have contractually agreed to reimburse sufficient fees to ensure that the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses (which would exclude interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses and extraordinary expenses, if any) of the Class I shares are at all times equal to the total annual ordinary portfolio operating expenses of the Class II shares less 0.25%, as calculated at the end of each month. Prior to that date, the expense limitation may not be terminated without the consent of the Board of Trustees (Board).