diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Annotation/FieldType.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Annotation/FieldType.php
index 90d0cf7..13feaae 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Annotation/FieldType.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Annotation/FieldType.php
@@ -52,16 +52,6 @@ class FieldType extends DataType {
   public $description;
 
   /**
-   * An array of field-level settings available for the field type.
-   *
-   * Keys are the names of the settings, and values are the default values for
-   * those settings.
-   *
-   * @var array
-   */
-  public $settings;
-
-  /**
    * An array of instance-level settings available for the field type.
    *
    * Keys are the names of the settings, and values are the default values for
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemBase.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemBase.php
index fce6089..5802b4a 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemBase.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemBase.php
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    return array();
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function mainPropertyName() {
     return 'value';
   }
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemInterface.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemInterface.php
index ae7bf6c..579f0d4 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemInterface.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldItemInterface.php
@@ -213,6 +213,14 @@ public function delete();
   public function deleteRevision();
 
   /**
+   * Defines the field-level settings for this plugin.
+   *
+   * @return array
+   *   A list of default settings, keyed by the setting name.
+   */
+  public static function settings();
+
+  /**
    * Returns a form for the field-level settings.
    *
    * Invoked from \Drupal\field_ui\Form\FieldEditForm to allow administrators to
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldTypePluginManager.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldTypePluginManager.php
index 3928525..f719aaf 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldTypePluginManager.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/FieldTypePluginManager.php
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 
 namespace Drupal\Core\Field;
 
+use Drupal\Component\Plugin\Factory\DefaultFactory;
 use Drupal\Core\Cache\CacheBackendInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Extension\ModuleHandlerInterface;
 use Drupal\Core\Language\LanguageManager;
@@ -21,7 +22,6 @@ class FieldTypePluginManager extends DefaultPluginManager implements FieldTypePl
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
   protected $defaults = array(
-    'settings' => array(),
     'instance_settings' => array(),
   );
 
@@ -58,8 +58,12 @@ public function processDefinition(&$definition, $plugin_id) {
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
   public function getDefaultSettings($type) {
-    $info = $this->getDefinition($type);
-    return isset($info['settings']) ? $info['settings'] : array();
+    $plugin_definition = $this->getDefinition($type);
+    if (!empty($plugin_definition['class'])) {
+      $plugin_class = DefaultFactory::getPluginClass($type, $plugin_definition);
+      return $plugin_class::settings();
+    }
+    return array();
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DecimalItem.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DecimalItem.php
index 0d8dee4..86dfa01 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DecimalItem.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DecimalItem.php
@@ -17,10 +17,6 @@
  *   id = "decimal",
  *   label = @Translation("Number (decimal)"),
  *   description = @Translation("This field stores a number in the database in a fixed decimal format."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "precision" = "10",
- *     "scale" = "2"
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = {
  *     "min" = "",
  *     "max" = "",
@@ -36,6 +32,16 @@ class DecimalItem extends NumericItemBase {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['precision'] = 10;
+    $settings['scale'] = 2;
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     $properties['value'] = DataDefinition::create('string')
       ->setLabel(t('Decimal value'));
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/StringItem.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/StringItem.php
index 2ef9971..c1e303f 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/StringItem.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/StringItem.php
@@ -18,9 +18,6 @@
  *   id = "string",
  *   label = @Translation("String"),
  *   description = @Translation("An entity field containing a string value."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "max_length" = "255"
- *   },
  *   configurable = FALSE,
  *   default_widget = "string",
  *   default_formatter = "string"
@@ -31,6 +28,15 @@ class StringItem extends FieldItemBase {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['max_length'] = 255;
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     $properties['value'] = DataDefinition::create('string')
       ->setLabel(t('Text value'));
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UriItem.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UriItem.php
index 0fa6820..0f8dfbc 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UriItem.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UriItem.php
@@ -21,9 +21,6 @@
  *   id = "uri",
  *   label = @Translation("URI"),
  *   description = @Translation("An entity field containing a URI."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "max_length" = "2048"
- *   },
  *   configurable = FALSE
  * )
  */
@@ -32,6 +29,15 @@ class UriItem extends StringItem {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['max_length'] = 2048;
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     $properties['value'] = DataDefinition::create('uri')
       ->setLabel(t('URI value'));
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UuidItem.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UuidItem.php
index 27ca9e9..9d38ae6 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UuidItem.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Field/Plugin/Field/FieldType/UuidItem.php
@@ -16,9 +16,6 @@
  *   id = "uuid",
  *   label = @Translation("UUID"),
  *   description = @Translation("An entity field containing a UUID."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "max_length" = "128"
- *   },
  *   configurable = FALSE
  * )
  */
@@ -27,6 +24,15 @@ class UuidItem extends StringItem {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['max_length'] = 128;
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public function applyDefaultValue($notify = TRUE) {
     // Default to one field item with a generated UUID.
     $uuid = \Drupal::service('uuid');
diff --git a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Plugin/Field/FieldType/CommentItem.php b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Plugin/Field/FieldType/CommentItem.php
index 115bce2..0a41d3d 100644
--- a/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Plugin/Field/FieldType/CommentItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/comment/lib/Drupal/comment/Plugin/Field/FieldType/CommentItem.php
@@ -18,9 +18,6 @@
  *   id = "comment",
  *   label = @Translation("Comments"),
  *   description = @Translation("This field manages configuration and presentation of comments on an entity."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "description" = "",
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = {
  *     "default_mode" = COMMENT_MODE_THREADED,
  *     "per_page" = 50,
@@ -38,6 +35,15 @@ class CommentItem extends FieldItemBase implements CommentItemInterface {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['description'] = '';
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     $properties['status'] = DataDefinition::create('integer')
       ->setLabel(t('Comment status value'));
diff --git a/core/modules/datetime/lib/Drupal/datetime/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DateTimeItem.php b/core/modules/datetime/lib/Drupal/datetime/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DateTimeItem.php
index 6119730..7130ac5 100644
--- a/core/modules/datetime/lib/Drupal/datetime/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DateTimeItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/datetime/lib/Drupal/datetime/Plugin/Field/FieldType/DateTimeItem.php
@@ -19,9 +19,6 @@
  *   id = "datetime",
  *   label = @Translation("Date"),
  *   description = @Translation("Create and store date values."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "datetime_type" = "datetime"
- *   },
  *   default_widget = "datetime_default",
  *   default_formatter = "datetime_default",
  *   list_class = "\Drupal\datetime\Plugin\Field\FieldType\DateTimeFieldItemList"
@@ -30,6 +27,15 @@
 class DateTimeItem extends FieldItemBase implements PrepareCacheInterface {
 
   /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['datetime_type'] = 'datetime';
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
    * Value for the 'datetime_type' setting: store only a date.
    */
   const DATETIME_TYPE_DATE = 'date';
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Entity/FieldConfig.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Entity/FieldConfig.php
index e3aaea4..061817a 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Entity/FieldConfig.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Entity/FieldConfig.php
@@ -321,7 +321,9 @@ protected function preSaveNew(EntityStorageControllerInterface $storage_controll
 
     // Make sure all settings are present, so that a complete field
     // definition is passed to the various hooks and written to config.
-    $this->settings += $field_type['settings'];
+     if (isset($field_type['class'])) {
+       $this->settings += $field_type['class']::settings();
+     }
 
     // Notify the entity storage controller.
     $entity_manager->getStorageController($this->entity_type)->onFieldCreate($this);
@@ -510,8 +512,12 @@ public function getSettings() {
     //   $this.
     $field_type_info = \Drupal::service('plugin.manager.field.field_type')->getDefinition($this->type);
 
-    $settings = $this->settings + $field_type_info['settings'] + $field_type_info['instance_settings'];
-    return $settings;
+    $settings = array();
+    if (isset($field_type_info['class'])) {
+      $settings = $field_type_info['class']::settings();
+    }
+    // @todo Convert instance settings to method.
+    return $this->settings + $settings + $field_type_info['instance_settings'];
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ShapeItem.php b/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ShapeItem.php
index 348886a..50cb184 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ShapeItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ShapeItem.php
@@ -18,9 +18,6 @@
  *   id = "shape",
  *   label = @Translation("Shape"),
  *   description = @Translation("Another dummy field type."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "foreign_key_name" = "shape"
- *   },
  *   default_widget = "test_field_widget",
  *   default_formatter = "field_test_default"
  * )
@@ -30,6 +27,15 @@ class ShapeItem extends FieldItemBase {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['foreign_key_name'] = 'shape';
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     $properties['shape'] = DataDefinition::create('string')
       ->setLabel(t('Shape'));
diff --git a/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TestItem.php b/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TestItem.php
index 6c85daa..a608ec2 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TestItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/tests/modules/field_test/lib/Drupal/field_test/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TestItem.php
@@ -19,11 +19,6 @@
  *   id = "test_field",
  *   label = @Translation("Test field"),
  *   description = @Translation("Dummy field type used for tests."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "test_field_setting" = "dummy test string",
- *     "changeable" =  "a changeable field setting",
- *     "unchangeable" = "an unchangeable field setting"
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = {
  *     "test_instance_setting" = "dummy test string",
  *     "test_cached_data" = FALSE
@@ -37,6 +32,17 @@ class TestItem extends FieldItemBase implements PrepareCacheInterface {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['test_field_setting'] = 'dummy test string';
+    $settings['changeable'] = 'a changeable field setting';
+    $settings['unchangeable'] = 'an unchangeable field setting';
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function propertyDefinitions(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     $properties['value'] = DataDefinition::create('integer')
       ->setLabel(t('Test integer value'));
diff --git a/core/modules/file/lib/Drupal/file/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileItem.php b/core/modules/file/lib/Drupal/file/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileItem.php
index d72ccad..77379de 100644
--- a/core/modules/file/lib/Drupal/file/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/file/lib/Drupal/file/Plugin/Field/FieldType/FileItem.php
@@ -18,12 +18,6 @@
  *   id = "file",
  *   label = @Translation("File"),
  *   description = @Translation("This field stores the ID of a file as an integer value."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "target_type" = "file",
- *     "display_field" = "0",
- *     "display_default" = "0",
- *     "uri_scheme" = ""
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = {
  *     "file_extensions" = "txt",
  *     "file_directory" = "",
@@ -40,6 +34,18 @@ class FileItem extends EntityReferenceItem {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['target_type'] = 'file';
+    $settings['display_field'] = 0;
+    $settings['display_default'] = 0;
+    $settings['uri_scheme'] = '';
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function schema(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     return array(
       'columns' => array(
diff --git a/core/modules/image/lib/Drupal/image/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ImageItem.php b/core/modules/image/lib/Drupal/image/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ImageItem.php
index 5442d17..6162a41 100644
--- a/core/modules/image/lib/Drupal/image/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ImageItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/image/lib/Drupal/image/Plugin/Field/FieldType/ImageItem.php
@@ -18,31 +18,6 @@
  *   id = "image",
  *   label = @Translation("Image"),
  *   description = @Translation("This field stores the ID of an image file as an integer value."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "target_type" = "file",
- *     "uri_scheme" = "",
- *     "default_image" = {
- *       "fid" = NULL,
- *       "alt" = "",
- *       "title" = "",
- *       "width" = NULL,
- *       "height" = NULL
- *     },
- *     "column_groups" = {
- *       "file" = {
- *         "label" = @Translation("File"),
- *         "columns" = { "target_id", "width", "height" }
- *       },
- *       "alt" = {
- *         "label" = @Translation("Alt"),
- *         "translatable" = TRUE
- *       },
- *       "title" = {
- *         "label" = @Translation("Title"),
- *         "translatable" = TRUE
- *       }
- *     }
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = {
  *     "file_extensions" = "png gif jpg jpeg",
  *     "file_directory" = "",
@@ -71,6 +46,37 @@ class ImageItem extends FileItem {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['target_type'] = 'file';
+    $settings['uri_scheme'] = '';
+    $settings['default_image'] = array(
+      'fid' => NULL,
+      'alt' => '',
+      'title' => '',
+      'width' => NULL,
+      'height' => NULL,
+    );
+    $settings['column_groups'] = array(
+      'file' => array(
+        'label' => t('File'),
+        'columns' => array('target_id', 'width', 'height'),
+      ),
+      'alt' => array(
+        'label' => t('Alt'),
+        'translatable' => TRUE,
+      ),
+      'title' => array(
+        'label' => t('Title'),
+        'translatable' => TRUE,
+      ),
+    );
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function schema(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     return array(
       'columns' => array(
diff --git a/core/modules/taxonomy/lib/Drupal/taxonomy/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TaxonomyTermReferenceItem.php b/core/modules/taxonomy/lib/Drupal/taxonomy/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TaxonomyTermReferenceItem.php
index d044f96..bacc4ef 100644
--- a/core/modules/taxonomy/lib/Drupal/taxonomy/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TaxonomyTermReferenceItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/taxonomy/lib/Drupal/taxonomy/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TaxonomyTermReferenceItem.php
@@ -19,16 +19,6 @@
  *   id = "taxonomy_term_reference",
  *   label = @Translation("Term Reference"),
  *   description = @Translation("This field stores a reference to a taxonomy term."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "target_type" = "taxonomy_term",
- *     "options_list_callback" = NULL,
- *     "allowed_values" = {
- *       {
- *         "vocabulary" = "",
- *         "parent" = "0"
- *       }
- *     }
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = { },
  *   default_widget = "options_select",
  *   default_formatter = "taxonomy_term_reference_link",
@@ -40,6 +30,22 @@ class TaxonomyTermReferenceItem extends EntityReferenceItem implements AllowedVa
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['target_type'] = 'taxonomy_term';
+    $settings['options_list_callback'] = NULL;
+    $settings['allowed_values'] = array(
+      array(
+        'vocabulary' => '',
+        'parent' => 0,
+      ),
+    );
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public function getPossibleValues(AccountInterface $account = NULL) {
     // Flatten options firstly, because Possible Options may contain group
     // arrays.
diff --git a/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TextItem.php b/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TextItem.php
index 93bd949..0eee199 100644
--- a/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TextItem.php
+++ b/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Plugin/Field/FieldType/TextItem.php
@@ -16,9 +16,6 @@
  *   id = "text",
  *   label = @Translation("Text"),
  *   description = @Translation("This field stores varchar text in the database."),
- *   settings = {
- *     "max_length" = "255"
- *   },
  *   instance_settings = {
  *     "text_processing" = "0"
  *   },
@@ -31,6 +28,15 @@ class TextItem extends TextItemBase {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public static function settings() {
+    $settings = parent::settings();
+    $settings['max_length'] = 255;
+    return $settings;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public static function schema(FieldDefinitionInterface $field_definition) {
     return array(
       'columns' => array(