With lvl 32 giving 2 heirloom points now, I would suggest most people wear <30k worth of gear and retire at 32. You will make 100k-200k gold, so you can trade the gold+2points for a +3 item every time you retire. You spend less time as a peasant, and getting a new +3 item every time you retire is more rewarding. You only have to grind for an extra 260k XP to make up for losing the 3% XP bonus you would have gotten if you retired at 31, so a couple hours. I'd rather play 2 hours at lvl 31 than spend any more time as a peasant.
Although getting kills as a peasant is rewarding too, so to each his own.