That the Respec cost is 50% no matter what level you are is a bug in my opinion, given that leveling scale drastically past 31 then the respec cost should scale accordingly.
I'm not for that 31+ should be able to respec all the time, not at all, nor get free respecs. However, a respec for gold (expensive) wouldn't be a bad thing, could help the economy as well.
For me, not retiring means getting off the hamster wheel, you don't have to grind, you don't care about heirlooms because you won't get any until after a year of grinding gold, all you have to do is log-on and play when you feel like it. Perfect. I don't like having the need to play up my character 24/7 in order to be ready for events and what not, or just to be able to play properly.