After "Benner" returned home on 9 April, she fell victim to the drastic defense infrastructure budget cuts of the time to fund the war in Vietnam. Reporting to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton on 29 August, the warship began inactivation preparations on 1 September. "Benner" was decommissioned on 20 November 1970, and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 February 1974. Although authorized for sale to South Korea on 7 February 1974, the offer was refused on 14 March; and she was sold for scrapping to General Metals of Tacoma, Inc., Tacoma, Washington, on 18 April 1975.